Planning matters blog | Lichfields

Planning matters

Our award winning blog gives a fresh perspective on the latest trends in planning and development.

The delivery of SEND facilities: how housing can help unlock essential infrastructure
There is a critical need for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) facilities across the UK. A lack of sustainable investment means that local authority spending continues to exceed funding provision. In 2020, a report by MPs on the Public Accounts Committee identified that many of the 1.3 million pupils in England with SEND do not have access to the support they need which, in turn, is damaging their education, well-being and future life chances[1]. The planning system plays a crucial role in facilitating the delivery of new SEND facilities and must be proactive in addressing rising demand.
Children are increasingly having to travel long distances to access SEND facilities that are often well outside the community in which they live. In 2022, at least 43,000 children in the England with Education and Health Care plans attended schools or other education establishments outside of their home council area[2] .Additionally, a lack of transport provision means that councils must frequently arrange private taxis for single students. Aside from the significant additional expense for local authorities, the extra travel causes undue stress for children with complex needs.
It appears the government is alive to the issue and following consultation on the March 2022 Green Paper [3], the Department for Education (DfE) published its Improvement Plan for SEND and Alternative Provision in March 2023 [4]. The Plan commits £2.6 billion of funding between 2022–2025 to deliver new places and improve existing provision for children and young people with SEND or those who require alternative provision. The government has also identified local authorities in England where 33 new special schools will be built as part of the free school programme to ease pressure on special school places [5].

This is promising and is welcome news but how will these new schools be delivered within a planning system that, in our experience, frequently misunderstands the nuances of SEND?
At present there is a lack of differentiation between SEND education requirements and mainstream education requirements in planning policy. Consequently, there is often no specific recognition of the acute need for the provision of SEND facilities and how these facilities should be delivered spatially. This is proving challenging. 
At a national level, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) (2023) [6] outlines a statutory requirement for Local Planning Authorities (LPA) to provide a sufficient choice of school places to meet local needs (para 95). LPAs must also take a proactive, positive and collaborative approach to meeting these needs in plan making and decision taking. Alongside this, the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) (Reference ID:53-007-20190722) [7] requires local plans to allocate land for educational purposes to meet the needs within a local area while also taking account of needs that may cross local authority administrative boundaries. However, this all applies to mainstream education. SEND need is not mentioned.
In our experience, this is much the same at the local level with SEND need and mainstream education need often conflated. For instance, when demonstrating the suitability of an unallocated site for a new SEND school, we are often asked by LPAs to first review and consider sites that are allocated for primary and/or secondary schools. However, these sites are allocated to deliver schools for mainstream education needs and not SEND needs. Rarely does a Local Plan’s evidence base distinguish between mainstream and specialist educational requirements and need, which results in a lack of clarity in policy and subsequent misunderstanding from LPAs. This paves the way for prolonged discussions at the decision-making stage on the need itself, and subsequently more delays to delivering the much-needed new SEND schools.
The London Plan (2021) [8] acknowledges that there is an increasing need for SEND provision in the capital and advises that both mainstream education places and SEND places should be planned for (Policy S3) by LPAs. It also highlights the importance of accessible design given that some SEND provision will be accommodated in mainstream schools. While the policy is helpful, it is arguably not enough as it does not obligate LPAs to accommodate these places through the provision of specialist schools. There is a risk that LPAs will simply plan for these places to be accommodated in mainstream education schools, which are not appropriate in all cases. This is problematic because SEND schools accommodate students with a range of complex needs that must be considered and addressed through careful planning and design. In particular, as outlined in the DfE’s Guidelines for SEND and Alternative Provision [9], these schools require more space per pupil than mainstream schools for several reasons:

  • “pupils are taught in smaller groups, averaging around 8 to 12 and as low as 4 to 6 where pupils need extensive support;
  • staff to pupil ratios are higher, particularly in a special school where 2 or 3 teaching assistants or support staff work alongside the teacher or give support in a separate space;
  • multi-agency meetings are common during the school day requiring confidential meeting rooms (these can involve several people in special schools). These areas can also be used for the delivery of individual intervention and therapy sessions.
The following apply in some settings:

  • pupils using wheelchairs need more space for mobility
  • disabled pupils need facilities for physiotherapy and specialist changing facilities
  • pupils who are easily agitated often need more personal space around them
  • pupils in special schools and AP need individual teaching, counselling and therapy, requiring a range of small spaces
  • visiting professionals, such as speech and language therapists, need access to a desk space and storage in addition to the teaching areas.” (DfE’s Guidelines for SEND and Alternative Provision)
A good example of a purpose built SEND school is Addington Valley Academy in the London Borough of Croydon, which Lichfields assisted Kier and LB Croydon to deliver. Lichfields advised on planning throughout the project, including on community involvement and justification for the need of the school, loss of a playing field and the impact on Metropolitan Green Belt.
Image credit: Noviun Architects
Examples like this demonstrate best practice in delivering SEND schools. However, they do come at a cost. With rising demand for SEND facilities and pressure on local authority funding, the private sector is having to step in to help. The government’s commitment to £2.6 billion of funding over the next four years is promising. However, it is likely that planning policy will be slow to catch-up and address this need. Clearly, something must be done in the interim to relieve this pressure.
Through direct project experience, Lichfields has found that the delivery of new homes could play a part in helping to reduce this pressure. In certain circumstances, new housing-led developments have the potential to cross subsidise the provision of new SEND. Of course, an optimum number of residential units is required to ensure a scheme is viable. However, cross subsidy from residential development on larger sites can offer a genuine, practical solution to addressing the current shortfall in funding by delivering SEND schools as part of mixed-use developments.
So, how does it work? A proportion of the surplus profit generated by housing developments is used to fund a new SEND school on the same site. SEND provision can be cross-subsidised either as a public benefit in lieu of affordable housing or alongside mixed tenure residential development. A key benefit of this approach is that the funding committed in the government’s Improvement Plan can be spent on other things including core school funding (e.g. operational costs) and specialist teacher training. In parallel, the need for SEND provision in a local area can unlock potential sites for mixed-use development and the delivery of much-needed homes. This approach results in considerable social gains for a local area, addressing both the need for housing and SEND provision in a single development, while also establishing new, mixed communities.
At a time when the planning system must be proactive in addressing the rising demand for SEND facilities, identifying sites for mixed-use development offers a practical solution that can work alongside the government’s multi-year financial commitment to improve SEND provision. In our experience, adding the need for new homes into the planning balance argument makes discussions with planning officers easier. We see this as an effective approach to delivering SEND facilities within the existing policy vacuum, and one that can act in the interim while planning policy catches up.
Lichfields has knowledge and experience of navigating SEND projects through the planning process and providing needs assessments to accompany these applications. Please do get in touch if your project would benefit from our insight and experience into the delivery of SEND facilities.

[1] Support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, First Report of Session 2019–21 

[2] Cornwall to Newcastle: children with disabilities forced to travel hundreds of miles for school

[3] SEND Review: Right support Right place Right time, March 2022

[4] Special educational needs and disabilities (send) and alternative provision (ap) improvement plan

[5] Transformational reform begins for children and young people with SEND

[6] National Planning Policy Framework

[7] Healthy and safe communities

[8] The London Plan, March 2021

[9] Area guidelines for send and alternative provision, December 2015

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From Percy Pig to Flagship Stores: How Retailers are Finding New Ways to Attract Customers
Retailers are having to work harder than ever to remain relevant. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated underlying trends in customer habits, most notably the growth in online shopping[1]. The pandemic has also led to home working becoming widespread across the UK.
Retailers have responded rapidly to changing shopping habits with many adopting an omni-channel approach to sales, using digital platforms to support their more traditional, high street offer[2]. More retail brands are emerging as online-only businesses, with the aim of providing the most convenient, hassle free experience for customers. A recent example is the growth of rapid grocery delivery brands within urban areas (such as Gorillas and Weezy), who compete to offer grocery deliveries within 10 minutes.

Image credit: @weezy.co.uk on Instagram

This poses an interesting dilemma. Why should people leave their homes and travel to shop in physical stores[3]? People now need to be enticed to leave their homes and shop in person. Retailers are having to take a more customer-centric approach to their in-store offer. So what are physical retailers doing to attract people?
Despite online shopping having reached an all-time high, a number of retailers are continuing to open new stores and, in some cases, new ‘flagship stores’, such as the M&S in Stevenage and Zara in Battersea.
Lichfields assisted M&S in securing planning permission for its new flagship store at Roaring Meg Retail Park in Stevenage which opened earlier this year. The store provides both food and non-food goods. It also incorporates new, innovative concepts and technologies, including a market-style foodhall with ‘fill your own’ stations, an optician, beauty department, large café and sleek external design (featuring a media board at the store’s entrance). A key feature for the store’s opening was a giant Percy Pig installation to attract customers.

Image Credit: M&S

Lichfields advised Wandsworth Council on retail and leisure facilities proposed within and adjacent to the Wilkinson Eyre designed transformation of the Battersea Power Station (BPS) building, which opened its doors to the public in October 2022. The development has proved very popular for international brands to experiment with new concepts and occupy large spaces. The new Zara flagship store (approx. 4,500 sqm) lies opposite the BPS building, fronting a new high street (Electric Boulevard), within the Frank Gehry designed Prospect Place building. It has a futuristic luxury department store interior, far removed from your typical high street clothing store. The Zara store also incorporates features to integrate the convenience of online shopping with ‘bricks and mortar’ retail, for example, allowing customers to pre-book fitting rooms and collect online orders in the space of two hours[4].

Image Credit: © Roger Cracknell 01 / classic / Alamy Stock Photo

The long-awaited opening of the Battersea Power Station saw more than a quarter of a million people visit during its opening weekend[5], suggesting that many people are still keen to visit to shop in person. M&S’s rooftop Percy installation also had the desired effect attracting customer interest, with the new store featuring in several local news outlets and being mentioned in a tweet by Liam Gallagher.

Image Credit: @liamgallagher on Twitter

Successful ‘shopping’ destinations provide an amalgamation of retail, leisure, food and beverage, and residential uses within repurposed, recreated and carefully curated places. 
Another example of such places, one without a flagship retail store and in a different part of the country, is Clearbell Capital’s Riverwalk redevelopment in the heart of Durham, for which Lichfields led on its planning. This scheme provides an exciting new leisure destination, including restaurants/cafes, bars, a cinema and a gym, along with supporting retail and student accommodation, creating a renewed sense of place within Durham City Centre.
Successful retail places are not just about new schemes. Retailers are also providing new or renewed benefits to customers to help attract and retain custom. Waitrose has brought back its popular free coffee for myWaitrose members who visit in-store. This time, customers have financial incentives to bring their own reusable cups. Most convenience retailers also provide ample electric vehicle charging facilities for members of the public. While electric vehicle charging provision is a planning policy requirement, the ability to charge your electric car while you shop in store is an attractive benefit for customers shopping in person. Forward planning by retailers could also assist customers in transitions to a more sustainable lifestyle, while encouraging them to shop in store.
While online shopping is forecast to rise again going forwards, retailers have benefitted from the easing of lockdown restrictions, with people returning back to shop in store[6]. As with many things post lockdown, people are wanting to get out of their homes to be in a more social environment. But they are more likely to be attracted to new and better shopping experiences that offer more than the speed and ease of purchasing online. The onus on retailers to go beyond their traditional retail offer will be even more important given the turbulent economic situation we find ourselves in.
Lichfields is experienced in assisting retailers, landlords, developers and public sector clients facilitate changes to traditional retail offers through the planning process. We are continuing to identify town centre and other retail and mixed use development opportunities. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss potential place opportunities or development projects.


[1] London's town centres: Retail mix of the future

[2] The next generation: The future of our town centres

[3] Attracting people back into town centres post Covid-19, Moorgath

[4] A Futuristic Zara Opens at Battersea Power Station in Londo, WWD

[5] MORE THAN A QUARTER OF A MILLION PEOPLE VISIT BATTERSEA POWER STATION DURING OPENING WEEKEND, Battersea Powerstation

[6] How our spending has changed since the end of coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions, ONS

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