Planning Consultants
Planning consultants provide advice on different kinds of issues dealing with the development of buildings, including planning, environment and development factors. In addition to ensuring smooth running of projects, their skills help to make planning quite economical. They can either provide external assistance to help in making important decisions or be involved in every stage of the planning process.
Basic Things Planning Consultants do
Planning consultants may be involved in relatively small projects for specific firms or such large-scale projects like developing a whole town center. Wherever they work, these are some of the tasks they will be involved in.
• Giving detailed explanations of all phases required for the project. • Offering help on the most appropriate way to carry out the required developments. • Providing advice on the best decisions to take. • Providing a layout of the best approach to follow. • Endorsing specific ideas as actively as necessary. • Having a vested interest in the project's outcome.
These functions mean that the planning consultants assume different roles, including acting as trainers, facilitators, instructors, strategists, promoters and stakeholders.
Main Areas of Involvement
Although project owners may involve planning consultants in almost any area, there are some major areas where they usually look after.
• Submitting planning applications and making necessary follow-up, including making appeals for rejected applications. This calls for knowledge of the local area and legal requirements. • Depending on the extent on the project, planning consultants will seek for public examinations of relevant plans in line with Local Plan Inquiry requirements. They represent the project owners whenever necessary meetings are held. • Conducting market research to determine whether the project in question is feasible or not. This includes all areas of the project, from its planning to the location of implementation. • Designing and developing briefs to be provided to all participants, including contractors. Although the project designer will write the design briefs, the planning consultants provide important ideas. • Making concrete assessments on the expected environmental impact if the project is implemented. This assessment is very important because it will influence whether the project goes on or not. • Researching the local government policies that may affect the project in one way or another. • If all the above assessments are positive and the planning applications are accepted, the consultants will prepare the master plans that the contractors will use when implementing the projects.
Besides these pertinent areas, planning consultants may also be involved in other phases of the projects they are involved in to ensure everything runs smoothly without any unexpected technical hitches.
The project owners also work actively hand in hand with the planning consultants. They need to determine the things for which they require the consultants in the first place. These requirements will determine the consultants' levels of involvement.
It may also be a good idea to seek the opinion of several consultants depending on the scale of the projects to have a better picture of what to expect before choosing the most appropriate consultant for the project.
It is important for the planning consultant and client to have a common understanding of the project for successful implementation.
About the Author
Planning consultants provide advice on different kinds of issues dealing with the development of buildings, including planning, environment and development factors. In addition to ensuring smooth running of projects, their skills help to make planning quite economical.
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