What we do
Why Infra-Link Planning?
What We Offer...
The short version:
We help you get planning permission.
The long version:
A bespoke consultancy practice to link different ideas, identify opportunities and risks and achieve tailor-made solutions. We work collaboratively with you to achieve sustainable development. We work across the breadth of Town Planning and Country Planning. This extends to most planning areas including residential, commercial, agricultural, sustainability, energy and transport.
We are a professional independent planning, development and socio-economics consultancy with an edge. Why choose corporate when you can opt for boutique?
We deliver effective leadership to steer our clients through the planning application and appeals processes from the start of projects to their completion and delivery. We blend our technical expertise with local knowledge and contacts. We provide bespoke services to all our clients to match the scale, sector or type of project.
Our Services Include:
Planning Applications and Case Building
We ensure our planning applications/appeals and development proposals are underpinned by evidence and are presented in an accessible visually appealing format. We can assist in the preparation of plans and drawings and source and manage external supporting surveys. Our submissions are prepared to maximise the prospects of success. We prepare pre-applications and appeals, advise on retrospective applications, permitted development, enforcement matters, discharge of conditions and heritage impacts, including mitigation. We build relationships with our clients and lead, advise and support them throughout the process in an engaging manner.
New Settlements
Our founding partners have proven leadership experience in the preparation, planning and delivery of new settlements including garden communities. This extends from identifying broad locations, through to plan making and sustainability appraisals, securing landowner and financial agreements, infrastructure delivery planning, viability and timetabling/programming from inception to phasing and delivery/build-out. New settlements will continue to be required to meet councils housing requirements so if you have a large strategic parcel of land we can advise on its short and long term future merits in this respect.
For new settlement projects, we offer a bespoke advisory and review process for both local authorities and land promoters/developers. Using an evidence-based approach, we assist in the identification of broad and preferred locations, concept and land use planning, drafting local plan policy and allocation, assessing infrastructure requirements and funding, alongside examining viability and delivery.
Development and Neighbourhood Plan Representations
We assist clients seeking to secure an allocation for their land or sites; we influence policies through Local Plan and Neighbourhood Plan representations and discussions, thereafter preparing submissions and formulation of cases for Examination. We offer advise and assistance to Neighbourhood Plan Steering groups on policies, content and processes to help ensure their Plan is robust for Examination and will effectively achieve its aims in the future and can advise at any stage of the process.
Land Promotion
We prepare the strongest case for the allocation or release of land/sites for development through Local Plans, pre-applications, applications, and appeals. We utilise a systems promotion approach. This involves setting out and justifying the potential sustainable development, demonstrating and evidencing the need/requirement (including development need assessments across housing, employment and retail, five year housing land supply analysis and articulating exceptional circumstances e.g. Green Belt reviews), measuring the socio-economic benefits and showing realistic delivery. We adopt a pragmatic approach and seek to achieve the best outcomes for our clients via negotiation.
Preparing Site Appraisals and Risk Assessments
Undertaking assessments of development potential for sites, identifying planning risks and explaining realistic prospects of success. We are honest, transparent and clear with our clients and advise on the best approach to take to help fulfil the sites best potential and help clients realise their planning aspirations. We can provide a super quick site appraisal if you are looking for an honest, prompt and straightforward steer on the chances of a particular site gaining planning permission. Our site appraisal process involves a thorough evaluation of the existing characteristics of your site, an analysis of planning history and constraints, the identification of key issues and an assessment of relevant national and local planning policies. An informed view is then taken as to likelihood of success and a recommendation as to the best way to proceed forward.
Development Plan Making
We have direct experience of preparing, reviewing and delivering effective sound Local Plans, Neighbourhood Plans, Development Plan Documents (DPDs) and Supplementary Plan Documents (SPDs). Our founders have extensive experience of leading and preparing plans for local authorities. We work across all scales of plan making across strategic, local and neighbourhood plans, from defining a vision, preparing issues and options, through to examination and formal adoption. We undertake critical friend reviews, provide support on timetabling/programming and public consultations, coordinate evidence base assessments (for example preparing Housing and Economic Development Needs Assessments [HEDNA] and Employment Land Reviews), duty to cooperate, crafting policies and preparing and managing the examination process.
Global infrastructure projects
Planning for energy, utilities, transport and socio-economic (including education and healthcare) projects.
Research
Our founding partners are active researchers with close links to academia, local government, policymakers and industry.
Economics
We prepare economic cases for development using appropriate data to evidence impact in accessible and clear reports.