Our brief was to secure full planning permission within just four months.
Brtivic wanted to build a major extension to their Beckton production plant, but commercial sensitivities prevented them from engaging in the planning process until late in the project programme. We project-managed the planning application process particularly strictly to achieve Britvic’s objectives, working closely with council officers to deliver full planning consent within four months of instruction.
Britvic is the largest supplier of branded still soft drinks in Great Britain – and the number two supplier of branded carbonated soft drinks – operating across eight major sites and employing almost 2,000 people. The company’s regional facilities have been located at the Beckton site since 1972, which is primarily used for the production and packaging of soft drinks. Britvic are committed to investing in their production facilities and, following an estate review, decided to extend and enhance the existing facility to secure more efficient and sustainable production lines. The proposals included a 6,825-square-metre (73,400 sq ft) extension.
Operating in a highly competitive market, Britvic didn’t want to reveal their confidential plans until the project programme was well underway. Our brief was to secure full planning permission within just four months. We provided a full planning appraisal, highlighting key validation requirements and potential project timing risks. Although time constraints did not allow for a full pre-application process, we wanted to ensure that council officers were engaged as quickly as possible. Our pre-application request was sensitively elevated to secure a meeting with officers just two days before the application was submitted. A Planning Performance Agreement was also agreed to help further refine the application process and provide more certainty on delivery.
Working closely with officers, we ensured that potential issues were identified and fed back to the project team so that they could be addressed swiftly. The application was cleared for sign-off at Newham’s Strategic Development Committee where Britvic was represented by Planning Potential. The application was approved within the project deadline, enabling the construction programme to advance.
Summary of achievements
- Early review of application requirements and timing risks
- Securing swift pre-application meeting
- Project managing application process to ensure issues addressed swiftly
- Minimising pre-start planning conditions
- Provision of CIL and Section 106 advice
- Securing full planning permission within four months of instruction
