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
Full planning permission for first private SANG in Buckinghamshire, unlocking new homes, secured by Gracechurch Town Planning
Buckinghamshire Council has granted full planning permission for our client Greenhaven Conservation’s new Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) between Amersham and Little Chalfont.
The new SANG is desperately needed to unblock the thousands of new homes that have been on hold since March 2022, when Buckinghamshire Council, based on advice from Natural England (the UK Government’s adviser for the natural environment), has been unable to grant permission for any planning applications which have a net increase in housing that might impact the integrity of the Chiltern Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
This is a large area affecting most of the eastern part of Buckinghamshire, including the key growth areas of Amersham, Aylesbury and Chesham. As a result, planning applications for new homes have either been on hold or refused due to the lack of appropriate mitigation. Greenhaven Conservation’s new SANG will provide this mitigation and so enable to the Council to now grant planning permissions for new homes and, ultimately, allow them to be built.
Gracechurch Town Planning’s Director and co-founder, Andrew Ryley, led the project by advising our client prior to the submission of the application in 2025 and working closely with the Council through to its determination on 22 January 2026. Andrew is also retained to advise on its delivery, which is expected this summer. We are delighted to have secured this permission, which is the first private SANG in Buckinghamshire in connection with the Chiltern Beechwoods SAC.
If you have a development that has been affected by the Chiltern Beechwoods SAC issue, please visit Greenhaven Conservation’s website via this link for more information on how it can assist you, including registering your interest to reserve credits; or contact Andrew directly via email at andrew.ryley@gracechurchtp.co.uk.
Images by CSA
Details approved for much-needed emergency accommodation in East London
Gracechurch Town Planning was pleased to secure the discharge of detailed planning conditions on behalf of our client’s project to create much-needed emergency accommodation.
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The existing building is locally listed and located on a prominent corner junction within a Conservation Area. The original planning permission for the creation of the emergency accommodation included conditions to ensure the appearance of the proposal delivered the proposed improvements to the appearance of the building and wider Conservation Area, with the Council requesting detailed information relating to the windows, doors and materials of the new building (as well as cycle parking, to ensure this was sensitively designed and located).
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We worked closely with the architect to prepare and submit these details, and then negotiated with the planning officers at the Council, responding to queries on materials and providing further information where necessary. This enabled the conditions to be discharged promptly and to secure the delivery of the emergency accommodation through a building that will improve both the appearance of the building and enhance the wider Conservation Area.
Images by Lanyon Hogg Architects
Permission secured for spectacular Christmas light trail and Winter Village
Gracechurch Town Planning was delighted to secure planning permission earlier this year for the stunning Chelsea Winter Illuminations and Chelsea Winter Village, held in Ranelagh Gardens at The Royal Hospital Chelsea.
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Following the success of last year’s inaugural event, the client asked Gracechurch Town Planning to lead the submission of an application to seek permission for the event to take place each year until 2030. Additional light displays and installations were planned, and other changes included the addition of a unique artificial curling rink in the Winter Village.
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Gracechurch Town Planning worked with its trusted network of technical consultants to prepare the application for submission and engaged with Planning Officers prior to submission to ensure the Council was briefed and understood the importance of the event for The Royal Hospital Chelsea. Ranelagh Gardens is in the heart of The Royal Hospital Conservation Area and so key considerations relating to heritage and the protection of trees required detailed consideration to balance the position of the light installations and the accessibility of the trail. We then led the negotiation through the determination period, resulting in an early decision that provided certainty for our client that the event could go ahead.
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The result is a fantastic, accessible, event that will no doubt continue to be a firm favourite for all ages each year.
Permission for amendment secured to allow development of much-needed care home and community centre to continue
The Sugar & Ronson Campus is a state-of-the-art development in Redbridge that will provide high-quality nursing, residential, dementia and end-of-life care, as well as a vibrant community centre and hub, for the Jewish community.
Gracechurch Town Planning was asked by the contractor to assist with a stalled amendment application that sought the removal of a tree. The tree had been identified by the Community Security Trust as a potential security risk, and site investigations following the original planning permission had identified that the tree would also impact a retaining wall, and these issues risked holding up construction. In reviewing the application, we identified that the arboricultural documents needed to be amended along with the landscape plans. The Council was also seeking confirmation that the biodiversity net gain provisions approved in the original planning application would not be affected.
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Through close working with the architect, landscape architect and ecologist, we provided the Council with updated documents that included the necessary details to reassure the Council that suitable replacement planting could be provided and that the site would still deliver a biodiversity net gain. We did this within 3 weeks of being asked to act as agent, thus unblocking the application and allowing for an early decision. This meant the tree could be removed and development of The Sugar & Ronson Campus could continue.
We are pleased to have secured such a positive and prompt outcome for our client, and we look forward to seeing The Sugar & Ronson Campus when it is finished.
Image by Pozzoni Architects
Permission for permitted development office-to-residential scheme approved
Gracechurch Town Planning is pleased to have secured permission for the conversion of a vacant office in Southall to two apartments.
We prepared two applications – one that sought the Council’s prior approval to exercise Class MA permitted development rights, and a separate full planning application that sought authorisation to make external alterations to the building. The latter was required to ensure that quality of the new apartments will be sufficient in terms of their levels of daylight and sunlight. To ensure the Council would be satisfied that the two consents could be linked, we set out the relevant case law that confirms the legality of this approach in the Planning Statement submitted with the application.
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Following the submission of the applications we negotiated the conditions that the Council were minded to impose, reducing and simplifying these, and the permissions were granted. This will allow our client to reuse this vacant site for two new homes in the vibrant heart of Southall!
Planning permission secured for new children's home
Gracechurch Town Planning is pleased to have secured full planning permission, on first application, for the conversion of a single family dwellinghouse into a children’s home in the London Borough of Merton.
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Our client is an established children’s care home operator that was seeking to expand into a new area of London and had acquired a property in Streatham for this purpose. As with many areas, the Council’s policies set out a presumption against the change of use of properties that are currently in use as single family dwellinghouses, particular those that are suitable for larger families. ​
We therefore undertook research and analysis and were able to identify a need for the type of children’s care home that our client intended to operate, and the evidence of this need was integral in overcoming the Council’s policy protection for the existing use.
We addressed all other matters to ensure that the planning application was accepted by the Council, including setting out an assessment in our Planning Statement of the site’s accessibility and transport connections, flood risk and drainage, and air quality risks. This avoided the need for specialist reports covering these matters and so speeded up the submission of the application (as well as avoiding additional expense for our client).
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We are very pleased to have secured this consent for our client and to help to deliver a much-needed new children’s home.
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 is 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.