What the committee
actually needs
to hear.
Blackridge Planning Insight is led by a former planning committee chair with 15+ years of frontline decision-making experience. We give homeowners, architects, and developers the strategic insight that usually only comes from the other side of the table.
Planning advice grounded in how decisions are actually made
Not just policy compliance — strategic counsel on presentation, committee dynamics, and what officers and members need to say yes.
Committee Strategy
Guidance on framing, presenting, and pitching applications for committee consideration. We identify weaknesses before officers do, and help you address them credibly.
Planning Applications
Strategic support from pre-application stage through to determination — residential, mixed-use, and commercial. We advise on what makes applications succeed, not just comply.
Pre-Application Appraisals
An honest, experience-led assessment of how your proposal is likely to land. Delivered before you invest in a full application — so you can make informed decisions.
Community & Stakeholder Engagement
Managing objections, shaping the public narrative, and engaging ward members before a committee meeting — all areas where experience in the chair makes a genuine difference.
Expert Witness Services
Independent, authoritative expert witness evidence on committee process and decision-making — for planning appeals, inquiries, and legal proceedings.
Planning Appeals
Where an application has been refused, we advise on the grounds, prospects, and strategy for appeal — drawing on direct experience of how appeal arguments are evaluated.
Most consultants read the policy. Henry wrote the decisions.
Henry spent over 15 years on planning committees 7 of which he served as chair covering one of the most complex planning corridors in the country — Heathrow Airport impacts, HS2, and major residential and commercial infrastructure. He has determined thousands of applications, managed public hearings, and steered politically sensitive decisions. He knows exactly where cases succeed and where they fall apart.
Inside Knowledge
Henry is one of a small number of people in the country who can offer committee strategy advice from genuine, sustained experience in the chair — not as an observer, but as the person responsible for the outcome.
You Work With Henry Directly
No junior consultants, no account managers. When you instruct Blackridge, you get Henry — his experience, his judgement, and his direct involvement in your case from first call to final decision.
National-Level Credibility
Henry's analysis of planning reform has been published on ConservativeHome and cited in the House of Commons. His perspective carries weight beyond the committee room — and that credibility works for your application.
Commercial Rigour
Alongside his planning career, Henry built and ran a major international business for 15 years. He brings commercial discipline, clear communication, and stakeholder management that pure planning backgrounds rarely offer.
Straightforward from first contact to outcome
Direct access to Henry at every stage — no account managers, no junior consultants.
Initial Conversation
Tell us about your site or application. We'll give you an honest first view of the issues — with no obligation. Most people find they learn something useful in the first call alone.
Planning Appraisal
A detailed written assessment of your proposal, the likely committee reaction, the risks, and the opportunities. Delivered before you commit to a full application.
Strategic Advice
Ongoing support through the application, pre-application engagement, or appeal — with direct access to Henry throughout, not a junior consultant managing the relationship.
Committee Preparation
Where a matter is going to committee, we prepare you fully — briefing, representation strategy, managing ward members, and anticipating the questions that will actually be asked.
Fifteen years at the table where the decisions are actually made.
Henry Higgins is one of a very small number of planning consultants in the country who has spent more than two decades as a planning committee member and chair — including as Chair of Hillingdon's Borough Planning Committee, Vice-Chair of the HS2 Sub-Committee, and Chair of Executive Scrutiny for seven years. He brings that experience directly to clients — giving homeowners, developers, and architects the strategic insight that usually only comes from the other side of the table.
Meet HenryHomeowners
Extensions, alterations & change of use. Listed building & conservation area applications. Clear advice on prospects before you apply — and help presenting your case to committee.
Developers
Residential and mixed-use schemes. Pre-application strategy and engagement. Managing community opposition and understanding what officers and members need.
Architects & Professionals
Committee strategy for your clients' schemes. Expert witness on process and decision-making. Peer review of planning statements and stakeholder engagement support.
Published Analysis
Henry's writing on fixing London's planning system and unblocking infrastructure projects has been published on ConservativeHome — the first cited in the House of Commons.
Commentary from inside the process
How to fix London's broken planning system
Henry's analysis of structural dysfunction in London's planning process — published on ConservativeHome and cited in the House of Commons.
Read on ConservativeHome →How to unblock major infrastructure projects
An examination of why infrastructure delivery stalls in the planning system, and what genuinely needs to change — from someone who has chaired the relevant committees.
Read on ConservativeHome →What planning committees actually want to hear
The most common mistakes applicants and their agents make when presenting to committee — and what experienced officers and members are really listening for.
Sign up for updates →Ready to discuss your site or application?
Most people leave the initial conversation with a clearer view of their position than they had going in. There's no charge for a first discussion.