Independent planning consultancy
Clear planning advice before you commit.
LD Homes helps landowners, property owners, developers and investors understand planning potential, make informed decisions and progress credible proposals through the planning system.
Where do you fit?
Start with the situation you're in.
Considering a site or development proposal?
Get an initial professional view on whether the planning position merits further investigation.
Planning Rapid ScanNeed a fuller planning assessment?
Understand the planning route, risks and development potential before committing significant further cost.
Planning Feasibility AssessmentPlanning application refused?
Understand why it was refused and whether further action appears justified.
Planning Refusal ReviewNeed a route forward after refusal?
Develop the appropriate strategy for appeal, resubmission, repositioning or another planning response.
Refusal Recovery StrategyOwn land or property and unsure what to do with it?
Tell us what you have and what you're trying to achieve. We can help establish the planning position and discuss the appropriate route forward.
Services
Four ways to get a clear planning view.
Each service stands on its own. Most clients move through one of two simple journeys, set out below.
Is this worth exploring?
Planning Rapid Scan
A proportionate early sense-check for a site, proposal or idea, enough to know whether there's sufficient planning credibility to justify further investigation. It looks at planning context, planning history, the headline policy position and any obvious constraints or risks. It isn't a detailed feasibility study, and it won't promise certainty. It gives you a professional view before you commit further time or cost.
Request a Planning Rapid ScanIs there a realistic planning route?
Planning Feasibility Assessment
A more detailed professional assessment, whether following a Rapid Scan or commissioned directly. It looks at development potential from a planning perspective, material planning risks, relevant policy and history, the evidence likely to be required, and the realistic routes available.
Discuss a Planning Feasibility AssessmentWhy was it refused, and is it worth pursuing?
Planning Refusal Review
A focused professional review of a refused application: the reasons behind the decision, the planning issues underneath it, whether a credible route forward exists, and whether further cost is justified. The recommendation might be to appeal, resubmit, reposition, redesign, pause or stop.
Request a Planning Refusal ReviewWhat is the best route from here?
Refusal Recovery Strategy
Where a Refusal Review indicates a credible route forward, this develops the appropriate planning response: redesign, resubmission, pre-application engagement, appeal, further evidence, or another suitable route.
Discuss a Refusal Recovery StrategyHow it works
Two straightforward routes.
For a new site or proposal
For a refused application
Beyond the assessment
Planning support to see it through.
Pre-Application Planning Advice
Where appropriate, LD Homes supports clients in preparing their planning position before approaching the local planning authority. Depending on the agreed scope, this may include planning strategy, policy and history review, review of proposals or drawings, identifying key planning issues, preparing planning material and reviewing the authority's response.
Planning Application Support
Where a client decides to proceed with an application, LD Homes may provide planning support through the agreed stages: planning strategy, planning statements, review of drawings from a planning perspective, coordination of planning inputs, application preparation, submission support and local planning authority liaison during determination where agreed.
LD Homes works alongside architects, engineers, surveyors and other specialist advisers, and can help identify where specialist input or evidence is likely to be needed.
Who we help
Built for people making real decisions.
- Landowners
- Property owners
- Small and SME developers
- Property investors
- Applicants with refused planning applications
- Businesses considering alternative use of property
- Architects and designers needing planning support
- Agents, surveyors, solicitors and other professional introducers
Our approach
Good planning advice is not about pushing every proposal toward an application.
It is about understanding the position early enough to make the right decision. The professional recommendation might be to proceed, investigate further, reposition, redesign, pause or stop.
Helping a client avoid unnecessary cost is as valuable as helping one progress with confidence.
About LD Homes
From our founder
"After more than 20 years working within local government planning, I've seen how stressful the process can be for ordinary people, especially when they don't speak the same 'language' as the planning department. I started LD Homes to bridge that gap. I love helping people understand what's really being asked for, what's holding things up, and how to move from uncertainty to action."
Catherine, Managing Director
- More than 20 years in local government planning
- Direct, senior involvement in every instruction
- Works alongside architects, surveyors and other professional advisers
Planning insights
Questions worth understanding before you spend.
A growing library of practical answers, starting with the questions we're asked most.
Does my land have planning potential?
What actually signals genuine potential, versus surface appeal.
What should I do after a planning refusal?
Understanding the decision before deciding the next step.
Should I appeal or resubmit?
Two different routes, with very different implications.
When is pre-application advice worthwhile?
Where it earns its cost, and where it doesn't.
What should be reviewed before buying a development site?
The questions worth asking before an offer is made.
How much should I spend before testing the planning principle?
Keeping early costs proportionate to early certainty.
Not sure where to start?
If you have a site, a scheme, a refusal or a piece of land you're not sure what to do with, the right first step is usually the same: tell us what you have and what you're trying to achieve.
Discuss your planning issueGet in touch
Tell us about your site.
The quickest way to get a clear view is to talk it through directly.
A short call to understand your position and agree the right next step. It isn't a substitute for a formal planning assessment, just a chance to talk before you write anything down.
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