Working With Planning Consultants: A CPD for Architects

This CPD lesson is drawn from an Architecture Social Podcast conversation with Greg Blaquiere, founder of Eagle Planning and Development, recorded over around 49 minutes. It unpacks what a planning consultant does, how planning works on both sides of the public and private divide, and how architects can get the most from the planning relationship.

Who this is for

Architects, architectural assistants and Part 1 and Part 2 students who work alongside planning consultants and want to understand the discipline better. It is also useful for anyone in the built environment considering a move into planning, or thinking about setting up their own consultancy.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

1. Explain what a planning consultant does and where they sit in the project team.
2. Describe the key differences between working in a local authority and in private sector consultancy.
3. Build a more productive working relationship with a planning consultant on your projects.
4. Recognise why early planning engagement can save time, cost and risk.
5. Discuss where AI and digital tools can and cannot reliably support planning work.
6. Identify some of the practical lessons involved in starting and running a planning business.

What a planning consultant actually does

A planning consultant guides a scheme from its starting point towards a planning permission that can realistically be built. The role is not to design the building, but to advise on what it will take to secure consent: how policy applies, how a local authority is likely to respond, and how a scheme can be shaped positively to reach the result the client wants. Greg frames the consultant and the case officer as running the same relay with the same goal, handing the baton over at submission.

Public sector and private sector planning

Greg spent close to a decade in London local authorities, including Croydon and Kensington and Chelsea, before moving into private consultancy at Terence O'Rourke and RPS. He notes that the underlying goal is the same in both settings, but the pressure comes from different directions. In a local authority it can come from the public, applicants, management and councillors, across a heavy caseload. In consultancy the pressure builds towards getting a strong application submitted. Working as a case officer early in a career, he argues, exposes you to a lot quickly, because you have to stand by your own recommendations and judgements.

How architects and planners work well together

For Greg, productive teams come down to people understanding and respecting each other's roles. A planner giving feedback on a drawing is not criticising the design; the advice is about what it will take to gain permission, and whether the scheme is buildable and sound. When an architect understands why that advice is being given, feedback from councils can be interpreted and shaped constructively, turning policy into a route to consent rather than a blocker.

Engage a planner early

One of the clearest pieces of practical advice is to share ideas as early as possible. Even a few sketches are worth a planner's sense check: is there something about land use, building height or another constraint that has not been considered? Greg has increasingly been brought in after problems arise post-planning, and looking back through a retrospective lens, early input could often have avoided the issue. Engaging a planner early, even as a light-touch review, can save time, cost and problems later.

Refurbishment, change of use and new build

Asked whether a refurbishment is harder than a new build from a planning point of view, Greg's answer is that it is site specific. A change of use is bound by what the use classes order permits and by any restrictive policies, but those same constraints can apply to a new build. From a pure planning perspective the starting point can be almost irrelevant; what matters is whether the proposal is acceptable in planning terms. Construction realities, such as whether a difficult conversion is more cost effective as a demolition and rebuild, are a separate question.

AI and technology in planning

Greg sees real opportunity for AI and digital tools to improve a service that is often criticised for being slow and uncertain. There is a government drive towards digital planning reform. He points to validation, where an application can sit for a week to a month before being confirmed, as a process that could be sped up. Box-ticking checks, such as whether a permitted development extension meets set dimensions, are the kind of clear, criteria-based tasks that technology could handle, freeing officers to focus on applications that genuinely require judgement.

Balancing AI with judgement and due diligence

Greg is candid that he uses AI as a signpost and a shortcut rather than something to rely on. For anything he advises a client on, whether planning history, a flood zone designation or a listing, he still does his own due diligence, partly because of the risk of confident but incorrect answers. His view is that AI should make planners quicker and more efficient on the routine elements, but judgement, balance and individuality remain central: two planners can set two different, equally valid strategies, and that human input is not going away.

Lessons from the first year in business

Having come from larger practices with a regular salary, the biggest shift Greg describes is getting comfortable with not knowing exactly what the next few months hold, and treating the peaks and troughs as part of the work. His advice to anyone considering it is, if you are confident and have prepared financially, to go for it, get out and speak to people across industries, and follow up on contacts. He also reflects on the choice every founder faces between running a focused lifestyle business and bringing people in to grow, noting that neither path is wrong.

Key terms

• Planning consultant: an adviser who guides a development proposal through the planning system towards consent.
• Case officer: the local authority planner who assesses an application and makes a recommendation.
• Use classes order: the framework that categorises land and building uses and governs change of use.
• Permitted development: works that can proceed without a full planning application where set criteria are met.
• Validation: the process by which a submitted application is checked as complete before assessment begins.
• Local plan: the policy document, tested at examination, that sets out a council's development strategy and site allocations.

Reflective prompts for your CPD record

1. On a current or recent project, at what stage was a planning consultant involved, and what might earlier engagement have changed?
2. How clearly are roles understood between you and the planning advisers you work with, and where could that be improved?
3. Where in your own workflow could digital or AI tools handle routine tasks, and where must professional judgement remain?

About the guest

Greg Blaquiere is the founder of Eagle Planning and Development, a UK planning consultancy. He has worked in planning for close to twenty years, starting as a planning officer in London local authorities including Croydon and Kensington and Chelsea, before moving into private sector consultancy and then launching his own practice in 2024. Find out more at eagleplanning.co.uk.