Frequently asked questions

Planning officers are obliged to consider “material planning considerations” — overlooking, loss of light, highway safety, design, conservation area impact, ecology, drainage, conflict with specific local plan or neighbourhood plan policies. They are equally obliged to disregard the things people most want to say: it will lower my house price, it will block my view, I do not like the developer, there is already too much building round here. An objection that focuses on the latter gets logged but does not influence the decision. Our work is the translation: we take your stated concerns and map each one to a specific, named policy in your council’s adopted local plan that the officer must take into account in making the decision. Most objections fail because they raise the wrong points, well; we make sure yours raise the right points, well.

No. We are not solicitors and we do not provide legal advice. We draft a written representation that you submit in your own name. If you need a legal opinion on the application — for example on contract, boundary or right-of-light matters — instruct a solicitor.

No. Councils consider the content of representations, not who drafted them or what tools were used. Many planning consultants and law firms now use AI tools as part of their drafting. We disclose this in our footer for transparency.

Planning decisions are the council’s. We cannot and do not guarantee any specific outcome. We structure the letter to put your strongest grounds first, leading with the grounds that carry the most weight as material considerations.

Yes. Planning representations are public documents in England. Your name and the substance of your letter (but not your full address) will appear on the council’s online planning portal. This is the same as if you wrote the letter yourself.

Yes, in full, if we miss the 72-hour deadline or if it turns out we cannot cover your case. You can also cancel before delivery for a partial refund covering the work not yet done. After delivery there is no refund for change of mind, but your statutory rights are unaffected, and the free 48-hour revision exists for anything that is not right yet.

Reply within 48 hours and we will revise once at no charge.

No, you don’t. The council accepts representations in any form, by any member of the public. Many people write effective letters themselves. We exist for people who want a formally-structured document and don’t want to spend an afternoon learning the planning policy framework.