Our client wished to build a tennis court on estate land for his own use, but which could also be used by the local village community.
Council
Cotswold District Council
Issues
The land earmarked for the tennis court was within the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and adjacent to a Conservation Area – a difficult location. A large amount of earthworks would also need to take place which made the application even more controversial.
Solutions
Realising the difficulties at the site, we undertook a public consultation exercise with the local community and gained their support for the project. We highlighted a lack of local facilities and promoted the scheme to the Council, through direct correspondence and building a rapport directly with the case officer. We were able to persuade the Council that the impact of the tennis court would be minimal, when balance against the community benefits. We were also able to limit the cost to the client by removing the need for an expensive and lengthy Section 106 agreement (a unilateral undertaking) or Management Agreement to secure the community use aspect.
Public consultation and public lobbying exercises can be hugely beneficial to even the smallest applications; especially where a development is proposed on a controversial site, and is often overlooked by other consultancies. This, coupled with building a solid rapport with case officers helps to guarantee application success.