We had a fantastic day yesterday at the Accessible Retail Christmas Lunch, which is a great opportunity to catch up with clients & fellow consultants within the retail community. The event also raises much-needed donations for the wonderful charity Variety, the Children’s Charity

We would like to welcome Karen Calkin & Sarah Pyne to the company. Karen joins us as an Associate and Sarah as a Senior Planner. Both Karen & Sarah bring a wealth of planning experience having worked in private practice for a number of years and are great assets to our team.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to our clients and colleagues. Our office is now closed until Thursday 2nd January 2020. #VerryMerryChristmas

A new policy approach to the loss of Retail A1 uses in Westminster making it easier to change to non-retail uses. Read more here: firstplan.co.uk/news/new-polic…

Firstplan is delighted to be recognised Planning Resource this week as the planning consultancy with the second highest proportion of Chartered Female Planners in the country. Read more here: firstplan.co.uk/news/firstplan…

We’re delighted to share our design for a temporary de-mountable pavilion in a central London square. Beautiful image by BLOC . . #popup #demountablestructure #pavilion #London #architecture #whitmanwilde #architects #architecturalvisualization

Having expanded in the last few years, we have outgrown our current offices and are on the move! We will be moving to our new, larger premises at Broadwall House, 21 Broadwall, London, SE1 9PL (just behind the Oxo Tower) on 16 March 2020, so please make a note of our new address

Today the Government announced that planning rules will be relaxed so pubs and restaurants can operate as hot food takeaways during the coronavirus outbreak. This will come as welcome news to many operators during this difficult period. gov.uk/government/new…

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) has issued guidance on site visits, hearings, inquiries and events. Please see our update below for further details. firstplan.co.uk/news/coronavir…

We are pleased to see that local authorities have been given powers to hold planning committees remotely. New regulations come into force tomorrow (4 April 2020) which temporarily remove the requirement for physical attendance at meetings.

One of the first virtual planning committees will take place tomorrow night at 6:30pm, hosted by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) Council. It can be viewed here: rbkc.gov.uk/committees/Mee…

COVID-19 Planning Updates: read our summary here firstplan.co.uk/news/covid-19-… including how the planning system is adapting, the impact on planning appeals and keeping permissions alive.

Our summary of RBKC’s first fully virtual planning committee firstplan.co.uk/news/rbkcs-vir…

Two conflicting appeal decisions identified in relation to A5 Hot Food Takeaway uses and impact of supplementary guidance in directing the location of new A5 use. More here: firstplan.co.uk/news/conflicti…

We spoke at Islington's new virtual planning committee yesterday, and were delighted to finally secure permissions for restaurant uses on Theberton St, including at the wonderful Mem and Laz... a few teething problems but the video committee worked relatively well

Highlighting how the planning system will play a pivotal role in the economic recovery both during and after Covid-19, the MHCLG has, as of today, published updated guidance alongside temporary measures intended to strengthen the operation of the system. gov.uk/guidance/coron…

Firstplan has sponsored and contributed to the Future High Streets Report by FCF. Firstplan’s Mike Mills highlights the issues posed by the Use Classes Order and discusses our work on the conversion of the former BHS store in Bromley. It is available here: futurecitiesforum.london/iet-forum-repo…

Covid-19 will drive innovation across planning and design on the High Street Future Cities Forum Report with Firstplan Liverpool Business Improvement District BDP Aviva Investors Schroders @SPPARCArc Chapman Taylor Gloucester City Council futurecitiesforum.london/iet-forum-repo…

Use Classes Order – shake up for ‘town centre’ uses firstplan.co.uk/news/use-class… Should you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact a member of the Firstplan team.

It’s been a busy news week in the world of planning with announcements relating to: -rewriting of the use classes order -demolition and rebuild of vacant buildings -two storey upward extension of houses All summarised here firstplan.co.uk/news/