Vail Williams appoints new senior planner

Property consultancy Vail Williams has expanded its Gatwick region planning department with the appointment of a senior planner.

Iain Williams (pictured) joins the firm’s property planning consultancy team from the London Borough of Sutton, where he worked for more than seven years in local authority development management.

Based at the Crawley office, Williams will be working across a wide range of planning and development disciplines. These include mixed use development advice, commercial development advice, negotiation of Section 106 Agreements, and permitted development and prior notification applications. 

Williams has managed a number of sensitive projects and, as a result, is experienced in dealing with Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) development and developments referable to the Greater London Authority (GLA). He is also able to liaise with various types of stakeholders and is an expert negotiator of Section 106 Agreements.   

Williams said: "I wanted to explore the wider world of planning in the private sector in a new challenge. I have represented local authorities at appeal through written representation or informal hearings and I am experienced in the drafting of appeal statements, being the principal officer at appeal hearings, and co-ordinating expert witnesses for local authorities.

"I like to think I have a good level of knowledge about permitted development and prior notification applications, as well as the wider development management process, and look forward to using this to good effect. In my role as a senior planning officer, I covered a wide range of development issues and I am now looking to utilise those skills to provide realistic planning guidance."

Williams's work for Vail Williams so far has included providing advice to a social media company searching for a new headquarters in Reigate, a residential scheme in Croydon, and a convenience store in Reigate and Banstead.

About Vail Williams

Vail Williams LLP is a UK independent provider of commercial and residential property advice. 

Vail Williams employs 170 people, of which 50 are partners, based across its ten offices in the south of England and the Midlands (Reading, Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Crawley, Woking, Heathrow, Leeds, London, Birmingham).