Appeals and Local Plan Examinations

I worked extensively with Jo-Anne on the creation of the Craster Neighbourhood Plan in 2019-20 and found her knowledge and readiness to answer any queries, guiding us through the process, to be of immeasurable value. Jo-Anne managed all the versions of the Plan, including the comments and consultation documentation process. It is safe to say that Jo-Anne’s expertise and work supporting us with the delivery of the Craster Neighbourhood Plan have produced a robust, grounded and credible Plan to the stated timetable. Her commitment, reliability, courtesy and expertise have resulted in a significant planning document that will benefit residents and our whole community for years to come.

Longhoughton Parish Council appointed Jo-Anne Garrick as our professional planning consultant for the preparation of our Neighbourhood Plan. Although we are still in the midst of preparing the Plan, Jo-Anne has proved to be an excellent appointment and has helped the Steering Group through a complex process with her professional knowledge and experience. Jo-Anne is a delight to work with in the way she offers help and advice.

We needed to submit an objection to a neighbour's planning application and, having no experience ourselves of how best to go about this, sought Jo-Anne's advice. We were absolutely delighted with the service that we received from her throughout the process. Jo-Anne was extremely efficient, knowledgeable and friendly and she prepared an excellent objection letter on our behalf. Putting the objection into the hands of an experienced professional took a considerable weight off our shoulders and gave us the confidence that the objection would be written to the highest standard. Happily the neighbour's planning application was turned down and we would not hesitate to employ Jo-Anne again should we need further advice.

Jo-Anne produced a highly in-depth report for us in support of our request to extend the Article 4 Direction Area in Durham City, in order to control the levels of student housing in our parish. This report when far beyond the standard planning considerations one would normally expect and the arguments put forward in this report add great weight in favour of our desired outcome – we simply could not have done without Jo-Anne.

We appointed Jo-Anne Garrick to prepare an objection, on our behalf, to a residential planning application for the development of a green belt site which is adjacent to our home. This development would have had a detrimental impact to the privacy of our home and we wanted to ensure that any objection we made was professional, informed and relevant. Jo-Anne was very knowledgeable and helpful about the whole process and working to a very tight deadline produced a detailed objection which we believe helped to secure the refusal of the application. We could not have done this without her professional help and we are very grateful for her assistance with this matter.

Jo-Anne acted on our behalf when we were struggling with planning permission for a side extension to our property. She acted swiftly and professionally dealing with the objections raised and time extensions requested by the local authority. We found Jo-Anne easy to talk to and her knowledge of the planning laws enabled her to put forward a convincing and persuasive argument in our favour. Planning permission was granted. We would like to express our thanks for her help and support throughout the process and would definitely recommend her services to others

We have worked with Jo-Anne on the development of our Neighbourhood Plan. Jo-Anne is extremely knowledgeable of the Neighbourhood Planning process and has guided us through all of the various stages of consultation and development of our plan. She has been able to explain clearly the complicated planning process and has attended our consultation events to answer questions from residents and businesses about Neighbourhood Planning. I would certainly recommend Jo-Anne to any council looking to develop a Neighbourhood Plan.

Ponteland Town Council has used the services of independent planning consultant Jo-Anne Garrick in the consideration of a number of planning issues. Councillors and council staff have found her independent advice, expertise and specialist experience to be helpful in understanding complex matters and in formulating strong planning responses to relevant authorities. Councillors and staff have been impressed by the detailed information she has given, which has always been prompt, even when we have been forced to give little notice of our request.

Jo-Anne has provided invaluable neighbourhood planning support to Middleton St George Parish Council from the outset, guiding the Working Group expertly through the whole process, from Area designation, project planning, policy writing, community engagement, preparation and updating of the required documentation, through to the plan submission and end process. Jo-Anne has provided a professional service, but is also friendly and approachable. We would highly recommend her.

Jo-Anne has been great. She is very knowledgeable and experienced and her advice was invaluable. As a very busy businessman, I didn’t have time to go through the application process. She did all the heavy lifting for me. Well worth every penny.