Your journey to planning permission

01

Stage One: The Review

"If I could stop developers from making one mistake, it would be coming to us too late in the process with a fixed idea. This always leads to either disappointment or conflict.”

Nikil Shanmugam, Planning & Environmental Consultant at Cogeo

At Cogeo, we follow a success-driven 5-stage process to help our developers bring their ideas to life. The first stage is the review stage – and it’s the most important.

To summarise it in one simple sentence: Come to us with an idea, and we’ll do the rest.

But to go into a little more detail, here’s why we need developers to approach us at the review stage, rather than halfway through a project.

There is no such thing as a bad project or a bad site. However, there can be a bad combination of the two – and no amount of designing will make it good. When you come to us with an idea, we will conduct a thorough review and provide a yes-or-no answer on whether the project will work before you’ve invested too much into it.

If it’s a yes, we’ll get the project going. If it’s a no, you’ll save thousands of pounds, time and valuable resources.

The review stage is what sets your project off on the right trajectory. Together, we become aligned on the outcomes, timescales, and processes from day one. What does this mean for you? An easier and more efficient journey, fuelled by clarity and confidence.

The importance of the review stage

The review stage isn’t optional. It’s the foundation of every successful Cogeo project.

Bringing us your ‘final design’ might feel proactive, but without a proper review, it won’t be ready for planning or construction. After we assess the site and conduct surveys, the design will almost always need to change. Starting with a formal review helps you to avoid unnecessary revisions, delays, and additional costs. It also allows us to make the biggest difference for you and your project, guiding you throughout the entire process.

The review stage provides clarity on whether your project should move forward, what the risks are, how we’ll manage them and what a realistic timeline for gaining consent looks like.

Benefits of the review stage

You get a yes-or-no answer about the project’s chance of success

We define milestones and timelines

We create a clear strategy

We carry out robust assessments

You’re more likely to get planning permission

Risks of skipping the review stage

We don’t understand your project thoroughly

Expectations and outcomes are misaligned

Conflict and delays are more likely

You waste time and resources

You aren’t compliant with planning policy

What happens during the review stage

During the formal review, we analyse the site and the wider area, as well as environmental and planning constraints. This desk-based evaluation helps us assess the potential for development and the likelihood of approval. We’ll determine what we need to do to get planning permission and map out the route for you.

Will this project work? If we believe it won’t, we’ll stop. If we believe it will, we’ll continue.

Once we are confident in your project, we will issue a Planning Strategy and Viability Report outlining the risks, opportunities, next steps, and a roadmap for gaining consent. This bespoke report includes gateways – such as surveys or enquiries – that help us formulate your quote and structure the scope of work in a phased and logical way.

It’s a thorough process on our side, designed to be a simple process for you.

A hard stop is better than a soft go.

We never want you to waste your time, money or resources. If we don’t believe the project will work, we’ll tell you at the review stage. If we do believe in the success of the project, it’s go time.

If it’s a go…	If it’s a stop…
We’re all in.	You save time.
We create a clear planning strategy and issue a quote.	You save thousands of pounds.
We move on to the next stage.	You come to us with another idea.

“By skipping this 5-stage process, you are risking failure. At Cogeo, we can’t guarantee success, but we pride ourselves on making sure that we wouldn’t ask a client to spend money on a project if we wouldn’t spend it ourselves,” says Nikil Shanmugam, Planning & Environmental Consultant at Cogeo.

When we do everything in the interest of the project, we are doing everything in the interest of the client.

Stage one determines whether the idea is feasible.

Stage two turns the right idea into the right design.

The review stage is the crucial first step in your journey from idea to reality.
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