Case Study Questions

Question 1

What were the terms of the MUFC STP contract?

Answer 1

• SH to summit a simultaneous satisfactory planning applications on the BSG and YR site
• Shanly to build BSG site at cost with an agreed specification
• SH to be responsible for MUFC reasonable professional fees rising from the deal e.g. promotion, architects, legal fees
• Shanly Homes to pay the £460,000 site lease fee
• If planning permission is not submitted within the agreements timeframe then either party has a 14 day notice to rescind the agreement
• Deal extendable is planning is outstanding or is to go to appeal

Question 2

Can you explain the planning uncertainty around the May elections which led to the planning submission being postponed?

Answer 2

Potential for scheme to be used as a ‘hot potato’ in elections. It was of my opinion and of the planning consultants opinion that both the schemes would have more chance of achieving consent post the elections considering how contentious they would be.

Question 3

What is the update on the planning application, is it due to be submitted soon?

Answer 3

During the local elections the Liberal Democrats queried the agreement my client has in place with the council. The Liberal Democratics have now control of the Local Authority with a majority of councillors over the others parties. So after a discussion with my client, it was agreed that I would stand down the consultancy team to see what the post election implications are.

Question 4

How would you advise bringing the Liberal Demoncrats on side?

Answer 4

Further consultation events to meet the members to understand their concerns and how we can work with members to make the scheme appropriate.

Question 5

How did you decide what type of planning application was appropriate for the stadium?

Answer 5

My initial thought was a detailed outline with just landscaping reserved would be suitable. However prior to my involvement my client signed a Planning Performance Agreement allowing for multiple pre-apps. This enabled us to be comfortable with our application prior to submitting.

The full application was suitable as the specification had already been decided. Main reason for a full application was that consent could be achieved sooner, therefore meaning my client to undertake the land swap sooner.

Question 6

What were the main contraints on the project?

Answer 6

1. Contamination - phase two intrusive contamination report was undertaken prior to my involvement
2. Green Belt
3. Flood risk
4. Finding a suitable access

Question 7

What is the process once the application is submitted?

Answer 7

1. Validation of the application and 13 week determination period commences
2. Application goes out for consultation and neighbours are notified
3. Site visit by the Case Officer
4. Case Officer recommendation
5. Given the scale of the application, it would then go to planning committee made up of elected council members
6. Judicial Review period for 6 weeks post date of decision

Question 8

Can you summarise why you discounted the other two options for key issue one relating to the schemes impact on the Green Belt?

Answer 8

Option 1 = the court was included within the projects intial spec and MUFC were confident of their needs case to support the courts inclusion. Therefore, I thought it would be appropriate to submit the application with the court, and then to potentially lose it at a later date if required.

Option 2 = with the court in the other position it posed more of a visual impact issue and would result in less parking.

Question 9

Can you summarise why you discounted the other two options for key issue two realting to find an appropriate access for the scheme?

Answer 9

Option 1 = I discounted this one as I thought the further planning risk of having to remove around 120 metres of trees would be too great.

Option 2 = existing access wouldn’t work as…

Question 10

In terms of planning deliverables, do you have a good idea of what these would entail?

Answer 10

In order to understand the planning documents required, it was a case of our planning consultant reaching out to the planning officer when we needed guidance.

My client also has a Planning Performance Agreement with the council which provided us with regular contact with the Case Officer and which provided us with a basic validation checklist.

This also included multiple pre-apps where draft reports were sent to the Case Officer to review and to advise if anything else was needed.

Question 11

What were the disciplines that made up your team for the application?

Answer 11

1. Architects
2. Highways
3. Arboriculture
4. Ecology
5. Noise pollution
6. Light pollution
7. Landscape Visual Impact Consultant
8. Planning consultant

Question 12

How would you go about managing the construction budget through the design process?

Answer 12

I ensured the internal Estimator from Shanly was involved/ copied into any emails when there was any discussions around potential changes to designed. If he was not able to attend, I ensured he was kept up to date with any changes.

Question 13

Why two pre-apps, what did the council suggest and what was your subsequent advice?

Answer 13

1st pre-app = was to explore the principle of our proposition. Highways Officer ask why I hadn’t considered using just the existing access? I explained that two accesses would be needed for coaches. In principle the Highways Officer said the proposed access plan was suitable. MY ADVICE TO THE CLIENT = TWO ACCESSES WOULD BE NEEDED

2nd pre-app = I presented the current options. They preferred the option where the futsal court was sat further east. I made sure to understand their key considerations to work on with the team. Highways were happy with the proposal of circa 60 parking spaces. MY ADVICE = PROCEED WITH OPTION 3 BUT SET THE COURT BACK SLIGHTLY TO MAKE IT LESS IMPOSING

Question 14

Why did you have the pre-apps when you did?

Answer 14

They enabled the team to gain a good understanding of the proposed scheme prior to public consultation.

Question 15

What does the NPPF say about development in the Green Belt?

Answer 15

Inappropriate development is harmful to the Green Belt and should not be approved except in very special circumstances.

Question 16

What is meant by preserving the openness of the Green Belt?

Answer 16

Minimsing a schemes impact on the Green Belt

Question 17

What has more weight, the Green Belt features of the NPPF of the Local Plan allocation?

Answer 17

Not a straight forward answer, they work in tandem:
1. The ‘Very Special Circumstances argument within the NPPF states that one of the allowances for development in the GB is for use of recreation, as long as they preserve openness
2. Mention the very recent adoption of the RBWM Local Plan meaning it is a very relevant consideration

Question 18

What did the government publish regarding proposed changes to development within the Green Belt within the NPPF, which would effect this project?

Answer 18

I made this comment to highlight the current national planning uncertainty. Indirectly the releasing the greenbelt to build more houses.

Question 19

Briefly, what would need to be included in the planning case to minimise the schemes impact on the Green Belt?

Answer 19

1. Steps we have taken to limit the impact on the openness of the Green Belt within our scheme.
2. How the scheme will benefit the public.

MOCK QUESTION

Question 20

What would have to be included within the needs case for the futsal court?

Answer 20

Essentially the lack of local indoor facilities for sports teams. Also the revenue stream it could bring to the club for upkeep & club longevity.

Question 21

What were you obliged to deliver contractually regarding the futsal court?

Answer 21

This was within the agreed specification at the start of the project.

Question 22

What was considered within the design to limit the schemes impact on the openness of the Green Belt?

Answer 22

• Futsal court set back from the main building and not as tall
• Scheme as tight to the boundary of the greenbelt as possible meaning minimising encroachment
• Constructed using organic materials
  Maintaining of trees and proposed planting of further trees to minimise the impact

Question 23

What are the NPPF considerations when it comes to considering development within the Green Belt?

Answer 23

Assumes sustainable development!

Question 24

What was the RBWM Highways concerns with option 2 of the futsal positioning further back within the scheme?

Answer 24

That cars turning off the road and into the car park would not have sufficient time to slow and could be potentially dangerous.

Question 25

What is meant by a Tree Protection Area/ Root Protection Area?

Answer 25

The minimum area around a tree that should be left undisturbed.

Question 26

What was the agreement made with the council in order to move their neighbouring access?

Answer 26

There is an agreement in principle that my client would move it at their cost in order to allow the scheme to work.

Question 27

What was included within the Specific Terms of Engagement for the project?

Answer 27

• Min invoicing amount of £500
• The stages at which the consultants can submit their invoices.
• What work the different consults should be quoting for so I could assess fee proposals on a like for like basis
• Where the invoices should be sent for payment
• Timescale for payment from us

MOCK QUESTION

Question 28

Why do I think Terms of Engagement are important?

Answer 28

As in this case they set out:
- Scope of work for the consultant, allowing me to compare fee proposals on a like for like basis
- Set the fee basis
- expense payment details
- Copy for the firms CHP

MOCK QUESTION

Question 29

How did BNG impact on the scheme?

Answer 29

The land scored pretty low on BNG as it is regularily managed and used as sports pitches. Within our scheme the ecology consultant advised the planting of native hedgerows and trees to further improve our BNG position.

MOCK QUESTION

Question 30

What is National BNG requirement? What is RBWM’s position on BNG?

Answer 30

Nationally, all planning permission granted after November 2023 will need to achieve a 10% net gain.

RBWM approach to BNG is currently under development.

Question 31

You mentioned you briefed all the consultants throughout the process, in terms of the initial briefing, what were the main components of your brief?

Answer 31

Initial team meeting with consultant team, with assistance from my client and the architects I talked them through the initial scheme proposal. I then invited consutlants to repond on the work they predicted.

However, I appreciate on a formal brief, you would include the following:

• Project vision
• Planning History
• Planning strategy
• Site opportunities
• Site constraints/ risks
• Construction budget
• Consultation strategy
• Build Programme
• Sustainability Strategy
• Clients Objectives
• Public Realm Strategy
• Design Specification (complying with building regs etc)

Question 32

What were the main objectives for the process?

Answer 32

With the stadium in such a constrained location, being within the Green Belt, one of the key objectives was how the team could create a scheme that meets MUFC’s needs, whilst limiting its impact on the Green Belt.

The football clubs main objectives was creating a proposal that was an inclusive community asset, rather than just a football club.

Question 33

If there were no Terms of Engagement, how would this impact on you?

Answer 33

Could have led to mistunderstandings in regards to the timings of invoice payments and their payment deadline.

This could lead to an unefficient invoice payment process.

Could also mean a consultant does not know how to make a complaint.

MOCK QUESTION

Question 34

Were you required to do a COI check? If not, how would you have done one? If there was a COI how would you have managed it?

Answer 34

As I do not work for a RICS regulated firm I did not need to undertake a COI check.

If our firm had a data base of all the contacts used I would check this. However when I have worked for a consultancy in the past I sent an email around to all employees asking if they are aware of COI. Then:

1. Conflict avoidance - if there is a conflict, decide whether you can continue the work or if you impartiality has been compromised.
2. Provide written advice to both parties to disclose nature of conflict, be as clear as possible and request INFORMED CONSENT from both parties.
3. Conflict management - set up an information barrier in accordance with the provisions agreed with both parties. Can ask both teams to sign NDA agreements.

MOCK Q

Question 35

If Shanly appoint Savills to acquire another football club, what COI issues could arise?

Answer 35

I would want to know Savills haven’t recently acted for another football club in another aspect of work, such as supplying planning advice, as this could be a potential conflict.

Savills would need to flag this conflict with Shanly prior to working for us, allowing us to decide if there is a conflict and to decide if we give Savills informed consent to proceed.

MOCK QUESTION

Question 36

Why did you include minimal contingency on your planning budget?

Answer 36

1. As I am client side naturally I am required, by the Chairman, to keep the budget as low as possible.
2. I also think it is better to keep the budget tight, meaning the consultants don’t use up the contingency unnecessarily.

Question 37

How would you go about improving your budgeting process in the future?

Answer 37

We received a brief validation checklist from the Case Officer, essentially outlining the key disciplines. However, in the future I think it would have been better to ask for a clear list of deliverables for each discipline, allowing me to procure more accurate fee proposals.

Also would have had wider discussions with my director and the planning consultant about what they consider to be a suitable contingency for each discipline.

Question 38

Cost of two pre-apps?

Answer 38

The PPA package allowed for the ability to have 5 pre-apps. For the total package provided, this was around £15,000.

Question 39

What was the BCIS average build cost rise compared to the previous year?

Answer 39

Between 2021 & 2023 there was around a 20% increase.

Question 40

Which of the Rules of Conduct did you demonstrate on this project?

Answer 40

Rule 4 - respect & diversity and inclusion - through planning consultant procurement process

Asked planning director to add any consultant considerations to avoid a potential unconscious bias on my behalf.

Question 41

Give an example of when you problem solved on this project?

Answer 41

Problem solving with the team on how to maintain as much as the tree buffer as possible.

Question 42

Give an example of when your professional communication was vital on this project?

Answer 42

Clear and consise comms with Client about consultants progress with fee proposals.

Question 43

Give an example of when you effectively managed tasks on this project?

Answer 43

Processing and payment of multiple invoices on time whilst updating my client as to how the consultants were progressing with their work.

Question 44

What scale are the plans on the presentation?

Answer 44

1:500

Question 45

What is the length of the lease?

Answer 45

999 years

Question 46

What are the benefits of the council leasing the site?

Answer 46

Allows Local Authority to keep control over the site for the future, but also in terms of maintenance. Especially important when leasing to a football club incase they go into administration.

Typically a peppercorn rent is paid by the lessee.

MOCK Q

Question 47

Have you undertaken any consultation with Network Rail?

Answer 47

Likely to be no work within 10 m of boundary until structural work signed off. There is already built form abutting the railway. Statutory consultee/ will most likely condition network rails sign off prior to commencement.

Question 48

How far away is the boundary from the railway on York Road?

Answer 48

12 m

Question 49

How many acres is the new site and the old site?

Answer 49

8.5 acres
5.3 acres (32 units/acre)