The politics of planning was at the centre of a Women in Property seminar hosted by Thrings this week, with the changing political landscape in the South West going under the microscope.
Property leaders from across the South West came together for the event, hosted in the firm’s Bristol offices, to hear the talk from James Mallinson and Charles Bushe, Head of South West and Group Commercial Director for political and stakeholder engagement consultancy DevComms.
Starting with an overview of how planning has changed since Labour came into power last year, the talk went on to examine the balance of power in local authorities across the country and the likely impact that upcoming Planning Committee reforms and English Devolution could have on the planning decision process.
James Mallinson, Director of DevComms South West said: “It was a pleasure to be invited to talk at today’s event and explore how planning is being prioritised in different ways by local authorities across the South West, and how this ebbs and flows with the changes being implemented by the new Labour government.
“It was evident from the questions posed by the audience that there is a great deal of uncertainty around how the government’s local government reforms will play out and it was great to be able to speak to such a wide range of colleagues from across the sector.”
Rebecca Stanton, Associate in the Thrings Planning and Environment team and Women in Property South West committee member, added: “A massive thank you to James and Charles for getting an engaging discussion going and to all of our attendees for joining us. It was great to see a diverse array of planning colleagues join us from across the region.
“With so much changing in planning over the past few months in planning, both on a national and regional level, it is important to reflect on how this tallies up with the political promises being made to help us plan ahead.”
To find out more about Women in Property, visit their website.
Thrings’ Planning and Environment lawyers have extensive experience in navigating complex local and national planning policy legislation and has successfully supported commercial and residential clients to optimise the use of their land to generate innovative new long-term revenue streams through the creation of natural capital projects and other diversification initiatives To find out more and for advice on your development proposals, please get in touch.
DevComms is a political and stakeholder engagement consultancy that specialises in the property sector. They help landowners and developers to engage appropriately with politicians, communities and other stakeholders, in order to help achieve planning permissions and strategic plan allocations, whilst leaving a positive legacy. They work across the UK, and have offices in Birmingham, Cambridge, Cheltenham and Reading. Get in touch with James at j.mallinson@devcomms.co.uk.