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...for Local Authorities
Unlike the majority of specialised affordable housing consultants, we have experience gained in both the private and public sectors, thereby enabling us to consider all issues from both perspectives.
Whilst initially established to principally assist developers, landowners and their representatives on all aspects of affordable housing (be it in terms of value, tenure issues, delivery mechanisms and disposals) the Landspeed Partnership can just as easily assist a local authority in ensuring it's own policies are respected and delivered.This is due to the fact that we will not fight adopted planning policies - which are always studied in detail.
Unfortunately, whilst we have found some local authorities that will try to impose conditions and obligations that contradict their own local plans and supporting guidance, it is more often than not the developers themselves who interpret policies in their own way! We have seen many instances where conflict arises between local authority and developer due to acquisition site viabilities having been put together with no consideration to planning policy or the mechanisms contained therein.
By maintaining a straight talking approach - and with a Partner well versed with the internal workings of a developer we seek to educate and inform where obvious 'errors' have been made. We firmly believe that there is no point in pursuing options that cannot be substantiated and whilst this may have ruffled a few clients' feathers in the past we feel our successes have borne out the stance we seek to maintain.
Maintaining a good working relationships with local authority officers is key. As a result we have successfully assisted in securing planning agreements (via Section 106 and unilateral undertakings) as well as commenting on emerging planning policies through local plans and supplementary planning guidance.
Our sister company, Landspeed Affordable Homes Limited, can both enable and deliver non grant reliant shared ownership affordable housing schemes but we never have (and will not) promote these options in isolation as, hard that it may seem in this day and age, we value our credibility and intend to be respected as an 'honest broker' that can assist in delivering genuinely affordable accommodation in line with policy whilst respecting a client's aims and objectives.
A few of our services (and this is not an exhaustive list):
- Advising on value, mix and tenure issues relative to new or existing planning applications;
- Negotiation of scheme specifics with developers and their professional teams;
- Preparation of unilateral planning agreements and advising on Section 106 documents;
- Appeal support and advocacy relative to affordable housing and associated issues;
- Advice on and negotiation of land and/or unit disposals to RSLs and other approved bodies;
- Assistance in respect of existing and emerging planning policy documents;
- Consideration of developers' viabilities for negotiation purposes
Our fee structures are tailored to each specific scheme and can be based on time spent or fixed costs with or without bonus related incentives.
What is the Landspeed Partnership?
A partnership consultancy established in 2001 by Ted Reddick and Gary Stirling, the consultancy was formed in order to assist developers, their advisors and landowners in understanding their affordable housing obligations and to offer a more balanced perspective than that offered by other consultants who simply took the line of least resistance.
With Ted's extensive development background, in land acquisition and planning, alongside Gary's housing association expertise the combination of private and public sectors ensures that all the issues associated with affordable housing are addressed although both Partners' commercial awareness is such that this too is considered very much a key factor.
