Firstplan assisted Lloyds Banking Group and Nationwide Building Society with their head headquarters relocations to 33 Old Broad Street and 1 Threadneedle Street in the heart of the City of London. Firstplan advised on the planning strategy for the comprehensive renovations of the office buildings, which included significant external and internal refurbishment resulting in the reconfiguration of the existing buildings and the creation of modern, flexible, functional and useable head office space, which in the case of Lloyds Banking Group will accommodate circa 5,000 staff.
Firstplan played a central role by advising on all planning issues, preparing all requisite planning applications, leading negotiations with Council officers and co-ordinating specialist consultant teams through to project completion.
Firstplan obtained consent for the redevelopment of former industrial buildings into a high quality office development providing 28,155 sq ft office floorspace.
Firstplan devised a planning strategy to simplify the planning process, including obtaining a certificate of lawfulness first and then obtaining planning permissions for alterations, extensions and mechanical plant.
Designed by award winning architects Buckley Gray Yeoman, the scheme includes a roof extension within a Conservation Area characterised by low rise mews buildings. Firstplan led pre-application discussions to agree that an additional floor could be delivered whilst ensuring no harm to the Conservation Area.
Firstplan also obtained consent for including a new roof to the warehouse building, with rooflights providing outlook for this heavily constrained building designed to ensure no adverse impact on the privacy of neighbouring residents.
Firstplan acted for Seacon in securing planning permission for a comprehensive scheme of works to upgrade and secure the long term continued operation of Tower Wharf, an important transhipment facility in the Thames Estuary. The proposals included a replacement river jetty access within the river, providing dedicated storage areas and development of new high quality office space.
Firstplan’s role included undertaking an initial site appraisal advising on planning strategy and requirements in addition to managing the application process through both pre-application and full planning application stages through to the grant of planning permission. The application process included extensive negotiations with the Port of London Authority, Environment Agency and Gravesham Borough Council.
Images credit: Marjoram Architects
Firstplan secured planning permission for the expansion of the existing StantonPrecast Ltd site to provide a new 9,000 sqm precast concrete segment production facility, along with around 10ha of open storage, a concrete batching plant and ancillary offices and HGV parking.
The new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility enables Stanton Precast Ltd to produce bespoke precast concrete ‘green tunnel’ segments, an essential component for the HS2 railway line. The HS2 route will incorporate around four miles of innovative green tunnels, whereby a tunnel is created using the precast concrete segments which are then covered over with the excavated earth and landscaped to blend in with the surrounding area. Stanton Precast Ltd will provide more than 13,000 tunnel segments to form three separate green tunnels.
The Green Tunnels project represents a significant investment by StantonPrecast Ltd in the expansion of their existing operations (in the region of £13m) and will create up to 90 new jobs.
Firstplan secured planning permission for the redevelopment of this prominent gateway site in Wellingborough to deliver a new employment-led, mixed-use retail and trade park.
The site sits adjacent to Dennington Road Industrial Estate and, despite benefitting from several previous planning consents, has laid vacant for over a decade. The permitted scheme will deliver over 1,300sqm of new floorspace comprising a trade and retail unit, car workshop, drive-thru coffee shop and 47 parking spaces. As an out-of-centre allocated employment site, it was necessary to provide policy justification for the introduction of retail and town centre uses. Through the submission of a robust evidence-based planning case, Firstplan were able to demonstrate that the proposed mix of uses will support the site’s primary function as an employment site and complement the adjoining industrial estate. Firstplan also gained support for the introduction of a drive-thru coffee shop facility which ensures that the development is commercially viable and therefore deliverable.
Wellingborough Gateway will bring this redundant site back into active use and create local jobs.
The increasing popularity of online retail has fuelled a corresponding need for a supporting logistics and warehouse infrastructure. Firstplan specialise in this sector, advising some of the UK’s leading retailers and developers on all types of logistics development from large-scale storage and distribution centres through to the provision of last mile infrastructure and customer collection facilities.
Firstplan work nation-wide and provide a comprehensive range of services including preparing site appraisals to inform land acquisitions; promoting land through the Local Plan process and securing planning permission for development, whether that be new floorspace, the reconfiguration of existing facilities or the re-negotiation of a permission to suit specific operator requirements. Our work often involves complex projects in sensitive sites including Green Belt land as well as EIA development. Firstplan regularly co-ordinate multi-disciplinary teams of consultants to address all planning issues associated with logistics development including policy, highway, environmental and amenity matters.
Firstplan negotiated planning permission for a mixed use development comprising 20 residential units, new office space, children’s activity centre, yoga studio, cafe and associated parking at Radford Way Business Park.
The site is allocated and safeguarded for employment generating B Class uses. Firstplan provided the planning and strategy advice that was critical in overcoming the policy constraints to successfully secure the release of this designated employment site for alternative residential and leisure uses.
The instruction also included leading the project team through the pre-application and application process, preparing a robust planning statement, submitting a well-managed application and leading negotiations with Basildon Council.
Firstplan secured a resolution to grant planning permission on behalf of Watford Borough Council’s Regeneration Team for redeveloping the Watford Business Park Gateway Site.
The consented development delivers over 7,100 sqm of modern, flexible employment units that are targeted at retaining existing operators and attracting new small and medium sized businesses within the film, TV, life sciences, manufacturing and industrial sectors.
The bespoke, modular buildings, set in a coherent landscape setting, will make for a step-change in the quality of local architecture area. The scheme will act as a catalyst for further investment in the wider business park and the local area, reinforcing this employment location.
Firstplan led early engagement with the Council via the pre-application process to gain officer support and co-ordinated the preparation of robust planning statements, managed a wider team of specialist consultants, and submitted the planning application.
Firstplan were also responsible for leading negotiations with the Council to minimise conditional requirements and presented the scheme at planning committee where members voted unanimously to approve the application.
Firstplan act as retained planning consultant for CNG Fuels, providing planning and strategy advice to facilitate their nationwide roll-out of Bio-Compressed Natural Gas refuelling stations to meet their customer’s vehicle fleet and off-grid energy needs.
CNG Fuels Bio-CNG is biomethane 100% sourced from food waste, independently verified by the Department for Transport’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). Bio-CNG reduces a vehicles CO2 equivalent emissions by as much as 84%, NOx emissions by as much as 75% and noise by approximately 50% compared to a diesel vehicle.
Firstplan is continuing to work proactively to devise planning strategies, overcome planning constraints and obtain planning permissions within restrictive timescales to allow CNG Fuels to create an ambitious Bio-CNG refuelling network capable of servicing all of the UK’s major trucking routes.
Advise Costco on a range of planning matters affecting their portfolio in the U.K and Europe.
Sally Miles has successfully led teams to secure consent for 13,000 sq m Costco Membership Warehouse Clubs in Farnborough, Southampton, Hounslow, Wembley, Sunbury, High Wycombe and Stevenage.