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Indigo Public Affairs has helped a client achieve unanimous planning committee approval for eight executive homes on Green Belt land in Hertsmere, on the outskirts of Watford.

We were appointed three weeks before the committee date with instructions to make sure that everything possible could be done to achieve a resolution to grant. We knew that Green Belt would be the issue.

We researched previous similar applications and the foibles of committee members to ensure that the application was not to fall foul of particular dislikes of members. 

We found a champion who could put our case well to councillors.

We also briefed councillors about the special circumstances allowing development in the Green Belt.  At the committee, the councillors spoke highly of our scheme and passed it unanimously.

London Councils, the body that represents the 33 London boroughs, is trying to strip Boris, and future London Mayors, of their power to decide strategic applications without reference to the Boroughs.

For the Coalition Government that believes in localism, and stripping powers back to the local level in planning, this should be an easy decision, particularly as the Tories were against giving the powers to the London Mayor in the first place.

It was Tony Blair's almost final act as Prime Minister to give the then London Mayor Ken Livingstone the power not just to refuse applications, but to positively decide applications.  Blair left immediately afterwards, and Ken was kicked out in favour of Boris.

Boris has decided just two applications with his powers.  We helped our client push Columbus Tower through the Mayor, and Boris also decided on a scheme in Ealing.

Not surprisingly, Boris (and Sir Simon Milton) is having none of it.  The first law of politics is that if you have a power, don't give it up - no matter whether you opposed the introduction of the power in the first place.

I suppose the problem for the Conservative London authorities is that they might trust Boris to intervene sparingly - but just think how many schemes would have been approved by Ken if he was still London Mayor (lots).

We shall see who prevails. 

We secured our third successful major planning committee approval in Hackney this year after plans to redevelop tram sheds in Clapton were approved last night, 4 votes to 3.

All three schemes have been controversial - and this one certainly brought a wave of protest from some members of the community, including protestors outside the town hall and a packed noisy committee meeting.  The meeting was lively and even had to be suspended for a few minutes to quieten people down.
 
Our client brought us in, given the large and organised campaign of misinformation about the scheme put out by some members of the community, on blogs, in petitions and through posters. 

Our messages to the councillors focussed on the jobs that we were saving, and the conservation aspects of the proposal. 

Despite intensive questioning from committee members, the application was approved after a discussion lasting over two hours.

Our client said:

"You did a great job & be assured we would use you again."

Indigo Public Affairs successfully helped Genesis Housing Group to gain a planning committee approval for their previously controversial scheme to redevelop the Mildmay Mission hospital and Shoreditch Tabernacle Church site on Hackney Road.

A previous application had failed at the same Tower Hamlets committee in 2006 because of a public outcry, but this time, the committee approved it unanimously.

Our task was to consult community groups and local stakeholders, who we involved in the evolution of the plans right from the start of the process.  We held numerous meetings with different community groups, as well as two public exhibitions, to ensure residents had the opportunity to have their views taken on board.

This meant that the vast majority of the community were behind the scheme when it finally returned to committee.  Indeed, we had lots of support and no objections from Open Shoreditch, the Columbia Neighbourhood Action Group and Columbia Tenants and Residents Association.

Our new iphone app is a useful tool for developers and councils across the UK.

It shows the political details for the lower and upper tier authorities, searchable by map, name or postcode.  The app can even work out which local authority you are in now.

Unlike other apps and council databases, this app is both free and constantly updated, so it should always be up to date and accurate. It’s based on our existing "Boothroyd's Blog prepared by our widely-respected and widely-consulted Head of Research and Psephology. 

Search for "Indigo Public Affairs" or "Council Map" on iTunes or on the iPhone App Store, or use this link http://bit.ly/councilmap.

It is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.  It requires recent iPhone software OS 3.1.3 or later.  A Blackberry version is under development.  

Indigo Public Affairs assisted clients Bellway Homes and Family Mosaic achieve consent on a large residential (nearly 500 homes) scheme in Poplar, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. 

The project was sited within a conservation area covering the Lansbury Estate, an important social housing development that came forward as part of the post-war Festival of Britain. With a tight-knit local working class community, local buy-in was considered crucial to success.

We used our good relationships with current and former councillors, and important local stakeholders, to ensure that the benefits of the project were clear to everybody in the community. The dialogue started with extensive pre-application consultation and continued up until the night of the planning committee.

This dialogue identified the issues that would be discussed at committee and enabled the team to formulate responses in advance. As a result, the application was approved 6-1 after 20 minutes discussion.

The LTGDC has approved the revised Genesis Housing Group proposals for 150 Stratford High Street in Newham.

We concentrated on the senior decision makers at a political level in the borough and ensured that they were fully aware of the changes to the scheme which had been put in place. This included targetted briefings for elected members of Newham Council, whose approval one week earlier paved the way for a consent at LTGDC.

At the April meeting of the Tower Hamlets planning committee we helped our client achieve consent on a 17 storey office development on the City Fringe in Aldgate. Members passed the scheme unanimously following our work, which involved liaising closely with decision makers to ensure that the needs of local stakeholders were satisfied.

We helped our client get a resolution to grant last night for a small development in Lewisham. The scheme was to replace existing derelict garages with much needed housing.

However, we faced local objections, including from two architects. 

Our job meant we met with the objectors to address their concerns, and we encouraged other locals to support the scheme.

At the committee meeting, the ward councillor spoke in favour and all members gave the scheme unanimous approval.