Steven Abbott Associates LLP
Limited Liability Partnership | www.abbott-associates.co.uk
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Mr Steven Abbott B. Sc. (Hons), M.R.T.P.I. [ E-mail ]
Steven Abbott is a Partner of Steven Abbott Associates.
Steven established the Practice in 1989.
Prior to that he had worked for three local authorities: North Warwickshire Borough Council; The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead; and Chorley Borough Council.
Steven was employed by North Warwickshire between 1975 and 1979. He gained experience there in policy and development control roles including public inquiry work from the outset.
In his time with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead he took a senior role in development control for the Maidenhead part of the district. Following promotion to Principal level there he also participated in wider aspects of the Council's business and elsewhere in the Borough. He presented reports to committees and various working groups. He also gave evidence at various inquiries and attended the architects Panel to discuss design issues.
With Chorley Borough Council Steven managed the development control team including day to day contact with members, committee work, and inquiries. He also represented the Council externally including attendance at county, regional and national functions.
The culmination of this local government experience was that Steven gained comprehensive experience of development control and policy for a wide range of projects and issues.
Since forming Steven Abbott Associates in 1989 Steven has consolidated his expertise by dealing with a vast range of instructions, mainly for the private sector. From the start this included a range of development projects in many locations involving the full range of scales and land uses.
He has an established and loyal client base which ranges from private individuals to major public companies and institutions. This continues to expand year to year.
Steven has an extensive number of contacts in senior positions in planning and related disciplines in the North West and beyond.
He continues to provide a personal service at a cost effective price and continues to receive much 'repeat' work from his clients.
Quality has always been at the centre of his approach to his professional duties, one principle he has used for the steady growth of Steven Abbott Associates over the years.
Mr Alastair Skelton B. Sc. (Hons), Dip. T.P., M.R.T.P.I. [ E-mail ]
Alastair joined Steven Abbott Associates in 1993 as an Associate and became a Partner in the Practice in July 2000. Prior to joining Steven Abbott Associates, Alastair had gained eight years local government experience as a planning assistant at Wychavon District Council (1985-1988) and as a senior planning officer at Chorley Borough Council (1988-1993).
At Chorley Borough Council Alastair undertook development control duties for Chorley town and outlying areas. He was also part of a multi-disciplinary team responsible for derelict land reclamation and urban regeneration projects.
Alastair advises a broad range of clients on all aspects of land use planning. Recent instructions have involved work on the following projects:
promotion of brownfield residential development proposals;
promotion of 'major developed sites' in the Green Belt;
audit of Carlisle City Council Urban Capacity Study;
promotion of major urban extension (mixed use);
group children homes on behalf of a major voluntary sector child care provider;
motocross/motorcycle road racing facility;
listed building conversion/apartment schemes - Wigan and Mansfield
retirement apartments scheme;
acting as expert witness in various planning inquiries for private and local authority clients.
Alastair has also provided planning consultancy services to Sport England (Yorkshire and West Midlands regions).
As with the other planners within the Practice Alastair has a wide network of contacts in related professions. He is able to work with these contacts where necessary in an efficient and cost effective way for the benefit of clients.
Mr Richard Percy B. Sc. (Hons), M.R.T.P.I. [ E-mail ]
Richard is a Partner with the Practice. In addition to his 'mainstream' planning work, he has considerable experience in planning for sport and recreation. He has close links with Sport England (formerly the Sports Council), having worked initially in the Southern Region office and then, on a consultancy basis on behalf of Steven Abbott Associates, in Sport England's North West regional office until 1998. Since then he has undertaken assessments of playing pitch and other open space provision in various locations throughout the country, acting for public sector and commercial clients. Several of these instructions have involved giving evidence to public inquiries into planning appeals or called in applications.
Since the publication of the revised PPG 17 (Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation) in July 2002, Richard's expertise in planning for open space and related issues has been in considerable demand, providing services to a number of commercial clients who have been required to address these issues in relation to development proposals.
In 1994 Steven Abbott Associates were asked to create and develop a planning appeals database for the English Sports Council (now Sport England) which now contains over 3000 planning appeal and 'call in' decision letters. Richard Percy has led this work and has produced the associated Planning Bulletins which are distributed to all local planning authorities in England. .