How the Right Visual Strategy Eases your Passage Through Planning

Planning Permission: that necessary 'evil' capable of generating some of the biggest headaches for a development project…

Or… that necessary requirement that one can easily navigate quickly and successfully when you know how?

We prefer to think of it as the latter. After all, planning exists for a reason – to ensure a development is in the public's interest. Which means we do all have planning departments to thank when it comes to bad developments not happening…

So it's really just a case of understanding how to ensure the good ones don't get refused.

The basis of which comes down to communication, a big part of that being that you have the right visual strategy. Because imagery is the most powerful way of communicating your plans accurately, but an image in itself isn't enough to communicate all the positives… or more importantly, address all the 'potential' negatives… of your development.

You need the 'right' image, with the 'right' message, for the 'right' audience.

And for that, you need a strategy – devised by a visualisation team who thoroughly and completely understand your project.

What causes planning applications to fail?

At the end of the day, planning regulations are all actually quite reasonable. Most of the points considered in an application are justifiable ones, and the process – when you look at it objectively – is also pretty fair. All potential stakeholders have a say, and resistance from residents and communities are considered, but within the realms of the realistic whilst also being weighed up against official national guidelines, policies and economic implications.

Overall, planning decisions are usually made sensibly, according to the realities of the development presented.

 And THAT is exactly the key…

 The decisions are made based on how the development is presented.

 Ultimately, of course, the success of a planning application will depend on the merit of the development itself: its purpose, its design and its impact – aesthetically, socio-economically, environmentally and so on – within the local area.

 Meaning that planning applications usually only fail for one of two reasons:

1. The development isn't in the public's interest… in which case it is probably a good, or at least reasonable, thing that it's been denied.

2. The development seemed not to be in the public's interest… i.e. the good of the project wasn't well communicated.

Buildings and developments aren't designed without 'solutions' at the core of them; they aren't simply dreamt up and then proposed. They are the result of considerable thought and planning. And those factors being considered by planning officials will have already been taken into account by the developer and the architect. This is simply part of their jobs.

Which means a planning application simply needs to communicate all that.

Presenting your plans with 'just an image' of the development is likely to miss the point. You need to be getting across the reality of it… highlighting the benefits and allaying potential concerns. Showing you've considered it all and designed it accordingly; proving that it has been designed with the public's interest in mind.

So – it's all in the presentation. Successful planning applications heavily rely on the quality of their presentation: the level of preparation, the accuracy of the designs, the reflection and representation of the details, and – possibly most critically – the consideration of the audience, and addressing what they are interested in.

The importance of addressing your audience

 As with anything in business, tailoring your message to your audience is vital if you want them to 'do' what you need them to. In this case, grant your planning permission.  

 Planning applications have two core audiences – the planning officials, and the local community. Remembering this is key, as they are two equally important (that's to say, equally capable of thwarting your development plans) yet very different groups.

 The planning officials will be looking at your development from the perspective of policies, regulations and environmental and social-economic impacts. You need to prove to them that those factors have all been considered, and you need to show them how they have been.

 Local residents and the greater community on the other hand, will be coming at it from a whole other angle. No-one wants a development on their doorstep, that's a simple fact of life. Whether it's a large housing development or a neighbour's extension, people are naturally concerned about 'change' and how it may impact them.

 So this audience will be most concerned about the more 'personal' factors. How it 'looks' in their neighbourhood, or how it may impact their own home – blocking their natural light or their views, overlooking their garden or compromising their privacy. With bigger developments they may be concerned about infrastructure – additional traffic or parking issues, new infrastructure that may need to be built to accommodate. Their concern may be about the 'number' or 'type' of people the development will bring to the area, or it may be the impact on local wildlife and the environment…  

 When it comes to 'new' – particularly something that might impact one's comfortable status quo – most people are wary. So making sure you're thinking about those concerns, and addressing them upfront, is one of the easiest ways to ease your passage through planning.

 What, and what not, to include in your planning application…

 Equally important to remembering who your audience IS, is remembering who they are not…

 Often, the visuals created for planning applications can be used for later marketing purposes. But the other way around – i.e. creating them with the prospective buyers in mind first – is almost certain to cause you problems.

 For example – a prospective tenant may well want to see a high-level view of a scheme as it shows the sheer scale and size of the proposition… it shows how much space there is, how much light, how many facilities, services, etc. That prospective tenant is mainly interested in the scope of the building itself, and what it can provide to THEM. They are not likely to be overly concerned about how it will change or impact the area it is being built in… as they're not there yet.

 However, show that same high-level view to a local resident and they will likely run screaming straight to the appeals committee. For this audience you need to show them an eye-level view instead, screened by trees and landscaping, looking sympathetic to its surroundings and proving that you, as the developer, are thinking about the end-result and the overall aesthetics of the area. With this image, you'll have a far better chance of keeping them on side.

 It's a simple example, but it's the crux of the issue. The visuals need to be considered from the perspective of those who have the potential to object, and they need to address, and ease, those potential objections. Different 'angles' highlight different strengths… so the right angles need to be chosen.  

How to devise the right visual strategy

 In order to find those best angles, the project needs to be understood by those creating the visuals, so that they are able to devise the right visual strategy for you.

 They need to understand the positives – what it will bring to the local community, how it is in the public's interest, and what design features have been included specifically to address those factors… and they need to understand its sticking points – the problem areas, the challenges, the potential causes for local concern, and the things that should perhaps be downplayed, or even (we didn't say it!) hidden…

 If your visualisation team understand your project, they will be able to create the visualisations to address the necessary points. Every image can answer a different problem, and every 'type' of visualisation can do the same. Verified views can show a recognisable reality; CGI can show a finished, softened, 'relatable' reality – in use, with people and cars and nature already in place…

 Strategically considered, high-spec visualisations have the ability to tell a story. One that communicates specifics, eases potential worries and answers all manner of likely questions.

 If you're just presenting 'images', they're likely to miss most of those important points.

 Without clearly communicating upfront, you are asking for a battle.

 Show those standing in the path of your planning approval everything they want to know from the outset, and you're far more likely to sail straight through.

 And you do that, by working with a visualisation team that know how to dig deep in order to devise YOUR 'right' visual strategy.

 (By the way… we're that kind of visualisation team.)