Property Focus: The Weekly Interview
Nigel Cussen is partner at town planning cosultancy DPP Town Planners in Leeds.
Mr Cussen has particular experience in the commercial development sector, including food and non-food retail, residential and office/industrial projects.
As an expert witness evidence he has a successful track record at planning appeal inquiries and hearings in providing CPO evidence and evidence to local plan examinations.
DPP has a network of ten offices throughout the UK and Ireland, advising on the best development options for clients’ land, helping to secure favourable land allocations in local plans and supporting and pursuing planning applications.
1. What are your views of the current state of the commercial property and property development markets?
“The biggest issue at the moment is the credit crunch and that’s affecting the residential sector most widely. At the end of the day people have found it difficult to get mortgages and buy houses.
“People say we’re talking ourselves into problems. It’s all about confidence and who you listen to. You listen to bulletins and someone will come on and say times are grim but we’re seeing growth in the economy as a whole. Even on the building side there’s significant talk of growth by the Government.
“There’s a demand for more housing and so in the long term things are going to be there. From our point of view as planners it means there is a time lag from what we do to when things hit the ground.”
2. What key challenges and pieces of legislation do you think will most affect your sector over the coming months?
“The big thing in planning is the planning bill. It aims to bring forward the infrastructure and simplify the planning system. It remains to be seen whether the Government can actually get hold of simplifying the planning policy.
“The Heritage Bill will also be interesting. At DPP we’ve got a heritage team in Leeds and Manchester which will be looking at it. It’s talking about making changes to listed buildings / conservation areas and changes to things like world heritage sites.”
3. Why do you think Yorkshire is a good place to do business?
“I’m originally from Leeds and I came back nine or 10 years ago. Since I lived in Leeds originally the change is phenomenal and it’s a major business centre.
“In the wider region the strength of Yorkshire is its cities. We’ve got a great network of vibrant cities and a great infrastructure network. It’s a great place to live but it’s also happening in terms of business and commerce.”
4. What is your favourite building/development in Yorkshire and why?
“Bridgewater Place in Leeds. I think it’s great. It’s an interestingly designed building. It’s a good focus for the side of the city centre it’s on. The new building really compliments the heritage stuff in the area as well.”
5. If you could improve anything in the region, what would it be?
“Having good local planning policy that reflects national guidelines is a great strategy. But the problem is the length of time it takes (for a planning application to be decided).
“The local consultations take time. Consultation is important but the raft of information you need means there’s a long lead into making a decision.”
6. What barriers have you had to overcome during your career and how have you overcome them?
“I’ve been very lucky during my career. I originally worked in government. I was in forward planning in councils and I tried to take a positive stance on development.
“The transition from one side to the other has been the biggest change. And overlaying that has been staying positive and client focussed. At the end of the day it’s about giving the end result for the client.”
7. What was your first job and how did you enter your current line of work?
“I worked in local government for York City Council before going to Preston (Council) where I worked in forward planning dealing with local planning policy.
“I then joined DPP as a senior planner. I’ve been a partner for two years.”
8. What do you most enjoy about your job?
“Seeing schemes through. You’re involved in projects which are really fantastic to get off the ground. As a planner you know that 18 months down the line a project is off the ground and making a difference to peoples’ lives.
“It stems from a genuine interest in the relationship people have with buildings and how they interact with them during their lives.”
9. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
“An old manager once told me that when you get a knock back or are facing a difficulty, you should stay positive and look for solutions. In terms of how you look after clients, take a positive stance and give them a solution rather than a problem.”
10. And the worst?
“We were working with a council and a planning officer said that the planning application we had would be fine and would go through. A while later he had to come back and say that the council was going to refuse it.
“I’m sure that in the property world it’s something that people come across regularly.”
