What We Do
Our wide range of expertise sets us apart from other consultancies in the regeneration, planning and development sector.
Development Consultancy
Our Development Consultancy team specialise in delivering large-scale residential-led regeneration and growth projects for, and in collaboration with, the public sector.
Whether the lead delivery body is a Council, a Government Agency or a developer, Hive has the skills and track record to work across the sectors to find innovative, delivery-focussed solutions.
We have a highly experienced team capable of providing the following services:
• Infrastructure (grant) funding
• City-living strategy and implementation
• Governance structuring and partner engagement
• Delivery strategies
• Stewardship structuring and modelling
• Site de-risking and disposal strategies
• Market testing and engagement
• A flexible project management capacity support offer
Hive’s extensive experience of working for public bodies delivering large-scale projects and developer-side, working in collaboration with public bodies to secure funding and unlock partnership solutions, provides the basis for our Development Consultancy offer.
planning consultancy
Our Planning team offer a diverse range of services for our private and public sector clients. We take a collaboration focussed approach and provide clear and concise planning strategy advice every step of the way.
We cover most sectors including Residential (both strategic and immediate land), Industrial & Logistics, Office, Energy/Sustainability, Retail & Leisure, Corporate & Mixed Use schemes.
Because of our combined experience of working with both private and sector clients, we are able to provide commercially-minded and delivery orientated advice at the same time as being mindful of the regulatory and political processes that local authorities and public sector organisations must work within.
Our core planning offer is centred around the following areas of expertise:
• Co-ordination and management of complex planning applications
• Promotion of sites through the Local Plan process, including participation at Examination in Public
• Community and Stakeholder engagement
• Planning Appeals and Expert Witness at Public Inquiry
• Initial Planning Appraisal and Planning Strategy advice
• Section 106 negotiations
We also work either independently or as part of a wider multi-disciplinary team with developers and/or local authorities on regeneration, Sustainable Urban Extensionand research projects, which utilise our core planning expertise to deliver the following services:
• Project management and planning input towards Town Centre Masterplans
• Local Plan Evidence base assistance – Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments / Urban Capacity Studies
• Area Action Plans / Supplementary Planning Documents
• Regeneration Frameworks
• Planning-related research projects
What our clients think of us
The Council have instructed Hive on a number of significant residential and regeneration projects within the City, including the review and implementation of the City Living Strategy, bidding to the LGA to secure funding and helping to establish a housing delivery vehicle. Hive are also project managing the delivery of the Homes England Local Authority Accelerated Construction Programme, the purpose of which is to invest grant into PCC owned sites to unlock them for residential development. Critically, Hive understand the way the Council operates and so have always provided prompt and well considered advice and they share our drive to achieve the Council’s growth objectives for the City.
Homes England have worked with Hive on a wide range of projects, including site promotion, strategic business cases, the promotion of HE programmes to local authority partners, evidence-based work on housing delivery trajectories, complex commercial negotiations around access agreements and development agreements and large scale outline planning applications. Myself and the team have been very pleased with the work Hive have done, which has always been to an extremely high standard and delivered in line with our programme and always to budget. Hive’s collaborative approach and public-private experience has been critical in helping us to achieve successful outcomes with both developers and local authority partners.
Hive have assisted us hugely in the delivery of our flagship regeneration scheme – Cotton Works – in Wigan, the largest brownfield site in single ownership in Greater Manchester. Hive have expertly navigated us on a journey with a number of critical public sector bodies, including Wigan Council, Homes England, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Historic England. As well as providing project leadership and establishing robust governance arrangements, Hive successfully bid into the GMCA brownfield land programme, securing grant funding which has been pivotal in unlocking the first phase of residential development. Hive offer a unique skill set for this type of regeneration project, embedding a collaborative approach across all their work.
Hive’s responsive, pro-active and solution-based approach was pivotal in the successful drafting and submission of a business case to support a brownfield land fund bid to the Tees Valley Combined Authority, to unlock our Middlehaven site which is the Council’s most significant regeneration project. We were particularly impressed with their direct and constructive engagement with the funding body to secure a positive outcome.
We have appointed Hive as planning consultant on a wide range of residential projects for a number of years and they have consistently delivered excellent results, but at the same time have been approachable, easy to deal with and have a ‘can-do’ attitude. Hive’s ability to manage a wide and complex range of matters, from the promotion of Green Belt Land through the Local Plan process, through to detailed planning applications, condition discharge or running community consultations has meant that we have been able to call upon their services in respect of any aspect of our portfolio.
as a Council we have worked with Hive for over five years on our Garden Village. Hive’s expertise and knowledge around the delivery of large, new settlements has been hugely important in guiding delivery. Hive have brought a range of advice and key outputs to the project, including drafting a strategy and leading on landowner engagement, pre application work with developers, housing trajectory planning, and working tirelessly with Homes England on our successful Housing Infrastructure Bid and working with their acquisitions team in exploring buying a key settlement within the Garden Village. Hive continue to make a significant contribution to the project, and are a pleasure to work with.
we have instructed Hive to provide project management support and technical expertise to deliver a large, stalled site in the Council’s ownership. We chose Hive mainly as a result of their impressive track record of working with public bodies on the de-risking and disposal of land for residential development. Hive have consistently gone the extra mile, always hit deadlines, and are a pleasure to work with. The combination of project management skills along with technical delivery advice has been key to formulating a robust strategy, ensuring that the Council’s vision and objectives for the site are achieved.
we have instructed Hive directly on two sites, and they are working with one of our developer partners on the other. Hive have provided expert planning consultancy advice across the three sites, leading the project management of the multi-disc team in the co-ordination of detailed planning applications. In undertaking this role Hive have been very proactive to understand our requirements, and in the way they work with local planning authority officers. We were particularly impressed on one of the schemes, where Hive addressed and overcame over 80 objections, dealing with a number of complex and sensitive issues around the loss of sports facilities and initial political opposition.
Hive have been sourcing new site opportunities for Maple Grove Developments since Hive were established. Stuart, Mark and the team took the time to fully understand Maple Grove Developments business and site requirements. Sites have been identified through Hive’s extensive network of contacts and excellent relationships with senior Local Authority officers. Hive are a driven team to work with, who are committed to get the job done.
we have worked with Hive from the outset, when Stuart and Mark set the business up in early 2018. Their wealth of experience on Garden Villages, public funding programmes and strategic partnership advice has been invaluable to our Garden Village project. Hive have demonstrated an ability to turn their hands to a wide range of tasks from Housing Delivery Strategies to the implementation of Green Infrastructure and its maintenance through a Man.Co. Of particular note however was the hard work, focussed yet flexible attitude that saw Hive successfully lead Cheshire East’s bid for £21.7m of grant funding through the HIF programme. Hive drafted large sections, co-ordinated the input of other consultants, plugged gaps in the team and generally orchestrated the whole bid through to a conclusion. Their experience of having worked for Homes England and connections back to key individuals brought significant benefits to the process.
