WHAT WE DO
Our services include:
Appraisals and Due Diligence
Undertaking site appraisals and preparing due diligence reports for potential site acquisition
Team Management
Managing project teams, including advising on appointments and leading work with architects and other consultants such as ecologists
Planning Applications
Preparing planning applications, applications for listed building consent, applications for prior approval or Certificates of Lawfulness for submission
Pre-application Consultation
Leading on pre-application consultation with local politicians and members of the public
Pre-application
Preparing pre-application submissions
Application Determination
Working with local authorities through the application determination period
Planning Committees
Appearing at Planning Committees
Advice
Advising on matters such as planning conditions
Our work also includes
Appeals
Preparing and submitting planning appeals
Expert Planning Witnesses
Appearing as expert planning witnesses (in relation to planning appeals or other matters such as covenant disputes where there is a planning implication)
Site Allocation
Promoting sites for allocation through the local plan process, including appearing at Local Plan examinations
Asset
Protection
Undertaking asset protection work, such as providing representations to planning applications on behalf of neighbouring landowners
Planning Enforcement
Advising on planning enforcement matters
Advertisement Control
Advising on advertisement control and leading on applications for advertisement consent
ABOUT US
The senior team at Gracechurch Town Planning have over 35 years combined experience in town planning, across local authorities and consultancy. In that time, they have secured allocations and permissions for thousands of new homes and commercial floorspace, hundreds of new care bedrooms, and multiple alterations and extensions to existing buildings (including listed buildings and others in sensitive locations).
Andrew Ryley
BA(Hons) MSc MRTPI
Andrew has over 20 years’ experience as a town planner working in the private and public sector.
Andrew’s experience includes planning projects of all scales and complexities, from small infill developments in urban areas to advising a pension fund landowner on a 6,250 home urban extension in Chelmsford. In his roles in the public sector, he led on large scale regeneration projects such as the 1,000 home redevelopment of the Alma Estate in the London Borough of Enfield, and was responsible for managing teams of junior planning officers including authority to issue decisions on applications and presenting to Planning Committees. In 2014 Andrew moved into private practice and now advises clients seeking to add value to their assets through achieving new development on constrained sites, including Green Belt and in conservation areas or listed buildings.
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Andrew is a trusted expert planning witness and regularly acts for both private and public sector clients to represent them and give evidence at public inquiries and hearings. He has also prepared expert witness statements for court matters, including the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), County Court and Family Court.
His career highlights include:
• acting for leading London airspace developer Upspace to secure multiple airspace development permissions for new apartments above buildings in conservation areas and in the setting of listed buildings across different boroughs;
• securing planning permissions for Care UK, one of the largest specialist care providers in the UK, on multiple sites across England, including a 76-bed home in Stafford at appeal overcoming heritage, arboricultural, flood risk and highways objections, and a reserved matters consent for a 75-bed Use Class C2 care home in South Gloucestershire on a site allocated / permitted for extra-care Use Class C3;
• advising Leap24 UK, a leading electric vehicle (EV) charging provider, including securing permission for new EV sites in London, Hertfordshire and Wirral; and
• acting for multiple local planning authorities, including the London Borough of Bromley’s estates team to secure outline planning permission for 60 homes on designated open space.
Andrew obtained a bachelor’s degree in Geography from Coventry University in 2004 and a master’s degree in Spatial Planning from Oxford Brookes University in 2007, and has been a full Chartered Town Planner since 2009.
Matthew Johnson
BSc(Hons) MA(Dist) MRTPI
Matthew has over 12 years experience as a town planning consultant, including seven as Director of Planning for a top-50 planning consultancy in London.
Matthew’s specialism is working with sites and projects that have difficult planning histories, or competing planning objectives and policies. His strategic thinking allows him to formulate a clear planning strategy; to agree this with the client; and to then implement this, utilising his network of reliable technical consultants.
His career highlights include:
• advising The Royal Hospital Chelsea as it undertook its project to refurbish its Grade II* listed stable block that was designed by Sir John Soane;
• securing planning permission and listed building consent for The Ramsbury Manor Foundation to provide an exhibition centre and new estate yard within the grounds of the Grade I listed Ramsbury Manor, in the North Wessex Downs National Landscape;
• securing planning permissions for Hamberley Development on multiple sites across England, including an 80 bedroom care home with four close care apartments and nine residential apartments in Eastleigh (Hampshire), and an 80 bedroom nursing home and 57 bedroom specialist neurological care home in Southampton; and
• securing planning permission by way of an appeal inquiry for up to 300 new homes and a new Community Woodland Park to the east of Norwich.
Matthew graduated from Cardiff University with a first class degree in City and Regional Planning in 2012, and graduated from the University of Westminster with a distinction in Urban and Regional Planning in 2015. He has been a Chartered Town Planner since 2018 and is an Assessor for the Royal Town Planning Institute’s Assessment of Professional Competence.
CASE STUDIES
Planning permission and listed building consent secured to Queen's Gate Grade II listed property
Our client approached us to regularise works that had been undertaken to their Grade II listed property on Queen’s Gate Terrace in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
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Internal works had been undertaken to the property without consent prior to our client’s purchase of the property in 2012, and had not been identified at that time. But as part of the current sale of the property the unauthorised works had been highlighted by a potential new purchaser’s survey. There was therefore a risk that the sale could be delayed if this was not resolved.
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We therefore made an application for retrospective listed building consent. Based on detailed research of the history of the property were able to present evidence to the Council that the works undertaken had not resulted in the removal of any features of historic or architectural interest and so preserved the significance of the building. The Council accepted this evidence and agreed with our case that the works had not been harmful to the designated heritage asset.
​​Our client was also concerned that three windows were rotten and needed to be replaced, and so via the same application we also secured planning permission and listed building consent for this. The Council accepted our arguments that the replacement of the windows will not have any harmful impacts so will preserve the significance of the building and the character or appearance of the Queen’s Gate Conservation Area.
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We are very pleased to have secured these consents for our client to enable them to progress with the sale of their property.
Image Source: Google Earth
Listed building consent secured to Grade II listed building in Westminster
Gracechurch Town Planning was approached by a private client who wished to make alterations to a Grade II listed building in the Belgravia Conservation Area in the City of Westminster, as part of a conversion from an office to a private medical clinic.
We reviewed archive, planning history records and other sources to understand previous changes that had taken place to the property, and to understand what the special character of the building was (both in itself, both also in its location within the Belgravia Conservation Area and close to the Hans Town Conservation Area). In doing so, we were able to advise the client on the best way to make the alterations required to maximise the prospects that the Council would accept them.
Our client’s build programme required a swift decision to enable materials to be ordered. We led the preparation of the application by working with the architect to prepare a clear set of plans, and by producing a supporting Planning and Heritage Statement, and submitted the application to the City of Westminster Council within three weeks of our instruction; the Council validated it straight away with no requests for further information.
Following engagement with the planning officer, the listed building consent application was granted over four weeks early allowing our client to make a start on the works sooner than expected.
Image by AFLUX Designs
Permissions secured for redevelopment of Walled Garden at Grade I listed Manor House
Gracechurch Town Planning was delighted to secure planning permission and listed building consent, on first application, from Wiltshire Council for the construction of a ‘Kew Garden-style’ glasshouse, and viewing terraces, within The Walled Garden at The Ramsbury Manor Estate.
The Estate contains a Grade I listed Manor House as well as other Grade II* and Grade II listed buildings, all set within a Grade II Registered Park and Garden. The Walled Garden sits to the west of the Manor House, adjacent to the River Kennet (itself a Site of Special Scientific Interest), and is known to date in its current form from 1885 (with earlier iterations present in 1773 and perhaps earlier).
Image by TLG Landscape
The applications followed previous approvals for a new potting shed and greenhouse outside of The Walled Garden. Our applications then focused on the demolition of the existing greenhouses inside The Walled Garden, and the re-landscaping of the area to provide a glasshouse as a central focal point for the garden, as part of the overall aim of the Estate to be open to the public. The glasshouse is inspired by previous plans drafted for The Walled Garden, taking reference from the curvilinear glasshouse styles at Kew Gardens (in London) and the National Botanical Gardens (in Dublin). Viewing platforms will provide elevated views across The Walled Garden, towards the River Kennet.
Gracechurch Town Planning co-ordinated the preparation of the applications, advising on technical requirements and working with the team to prepare the application documents. Following submission, we worked closely with Wiltshire Council to ensure the Council could support the applications including providing further information in relation to ecology. The applications were determined on-time, allowing our client to proceed with the work.
Planning permission secured for basement and extensions to London Conservation Area property
Our clients had recently purchased an impressive four storey mid-terrace Victorian home on Bramerton Street just off the Kings Road in the heart of Chelsea, and wished to modernise and extend it.
Ensuring that Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council’s requirements for basement development were met along with the being designed sensitively to respond to the site’s location in the Cheyne Conservation Area, we prepared an application that secured planning permission for a basement and rear extensions, adding over 1,000 sq ft and increasing the size of the property by around 36%.
Image Source: Google Earth
The property benefits from an existing four storey closet wing and the approved development includes a further two storey extension to this – the Council had previously raised concerns about this element of the scheme but with modest changes to the design and further planning justification with respect to the relationship to the neighbouring properties, it was approved.
We are very pleased to have secured planning permission for our clients to enable them to develop their new family home!
Electric Car Charging - Amendments to Permitted Development Rights Published
Amendments to The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order will come in to force on 29 May 2025 that will make it easier to install electrical outlets and upstands for recharging vehicles.
For electrical outlets, the restriction on installing these on a wall facing and within 2m of a highway is being removed.
For electrical upstands, the permitted development rights are being widened to allow the installation of equipment necessary for the operation of upstands on non-domestic properties. This reflects our own experience with commercial providers, who often require ancillary equipment to support charging infrastructure. Upstands of up to 2.7m in height will not need to apply for planning permission, and the restriction on installing upstands within 2m of a highway is being removed.
The amendment also includes changes for air source heat pumps, including allow detached homes to install up to two air source heat pumps without needing to apply for planning permission.
Gracechurch Town Planning submits
appeal in Poole
Gracechurch Town Planning was approached by a private client whose application for extensions and alterations to his house had been refused by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.
We reviewed the decision notice and accompanying report, and visited the site to evaluate the Council’s own assessment of the development. In doing so, we determined that the Council’s assessment did not reflect the true and limited impact of the client’s proposal. We therefore advised the client to submit an appeal against the Council’s decision, and prepared a robust and detailed Appeal Statement to counter the Council’s assessment.
The appeal was submitted before the six-week deadline for householder appeals and we look forward to assisting the Planning Inspectorate as it reaches its decision.