Chapman Lily Planning has been monitoring the responses of the development industry (in its widest sense) to the COVID19 crisis with a great deal of interest. Whilst each planning authority has adopted differing approaches to maintaining a flow of work we have been in constant communication with Councils via Teams, Skype and Webex to undertake detailed pre-application meetings for complex sites, working thorough validation being undertaken remotely and discharging conditions to get schemes “ready to go” when the lock down is lifted. The one outstanding challenge is getting the Council’s site notice up where officers are on lockdown but there are many solutions available to that issue.
Meanwhile we are seeing developers of all scales exploring how to return to site albeit with revised risk assessments and phasing programmes in place. Taylor Wimpey and Vistry are looking to re-open sites next month whilst smaller local developers such as Bayview and Willton who can manage social distancing more easily are looking at those sites they can safely return to. The key challenges will relate to supply chains and how to manage the latter part of the project s the range of final trades no doubt want to converge on the building.
For Chapman Lily this period has proved as busy as ever as clients review their priorities, look to refine existing schemes and explore alternative uses for their buildings. If you need to review what the current lockdown and changed economy will mean for your property we can help you through these uncertain times.