A couple of solicitors writing on the “Local Government Lawyer” website give advice to developers on how to get the best out of their dealings with local authorities. Here are a couple of paragraphs of their article:
“… Huge cuts in public sector funding means that councils are looking to engage ever more in property development to generate place-shaping, capital receipts or longer term income streams. If developers know how to engage properly with councils, understand what makes them tick and talk the right language then great (and profitable) things can be achieved. Conversely, far too many developers shoot themselves in the foot both reputationally and financially and miss out on deals with the public sector because they just don’t know how to put it together. …
… Councils are a lot more innovative and willing to explore collaborative arrangements with developers than developers often realise. Not every council is going to have the right approach and, indeed, councils need to improve and continue to develop their own commerciality and freedom of thought. For the most part, however, in our experience they are open to listening to and engaging with developers who have something different say and an attitude which chimes with that of the council. Whether it is at the soft market testing stage or during the procurement it is worth exploring the options. …”
East Devon Watch 