Blog - Planning for Student Accommodation and Shopping Centres (22/10/2013)
The design team are busy at work on two large schemes for student accommodation in the Midlands. The schemes involve the conversion and extension of old, redundant, commercial premises which haven’t been used for years. There is something very satisfying bringing back into use old, redundant buildings, but also sad when I walk around these almost derelict buildings walking in the footsteps of people gone by ! We are looking to have these schemes together for the formal planning submission by Christmas.
To continue with the complete mixed bag of work we undertake here at Agrarian, the redevelopment of a large West Country shopping centre has progressed to site. We are currently compiling schemes involving residential accommodation to the upper areas, whilst rationalising and updating/extending the ground floor commercial areas. These range from fast food takeaways, restaurants, retail (various) and even a public house. This scheme is both challenging and rewarding. The site itself is over 4½ acres plus car parking with the original structures in good order but considered dated. The task is to bring the whole development up-to-date whilst maintaining the operation of the existing retail units.
On the equestrian front, works are progressing on the development of the scheme drawings for a 38 box yard complete with ancillary accommodation, indoor and outdoor arenas. As with the other work, undertaking this scheme is a challenge for many different reasons. However the priority is always to ensure that the client’s brief is fulfilled and that they are completely satisfied with the final product, which is no mean feat !
People have asked me on many occasions ‘what’s the chance of getting planning on this site etc ?’ I always try and research a site for a client prior to commenting. This is in an attempt to ensure that the advice is both useful and site-specific. Planning can be affected by many things, some of which may seem quite innocent on the surface. However, upon delving into the site and local history a whole myriad of issues can surface. The usual ‘kiss of death’ is when a client says ‘its ok - it’s just a simple fill the forms in and pop it into the planners, who said on the phone that is a simple rubber stamp’ . This usually results in an unholy ‘bun fight’ with the planners and neighbours ! The one saving grace I would say (blowing our own trumpet) is that over the last ten years we have secured a planning approval success rate of 99.1% which includes those applications we have had to take to appeal and won !
