Law firm wins second £1.3m mandate to advise councils on 840-hectare scheme

Pinsent Masons has secured a £1.3m contract to give planning legal advice to two local authorities on a major development project, just weeks after winning a similar mandate to provide property and commercial legal advice on the scheme.

The two contracts from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Hampshire County Council relate to a scheme covering 840 hectares of land at Manydown, near Basingstoke. The two local authorities are leaseholders of the land.

The role of giving property and commercial legal advice was the subject of a separate procurement process, the result of which was announced early in August.

The contract for planning legal advice announced this week relates to the obtaining of planning permission for the first phase of the project and, thereafter, on an ongoing basis.

It is envisaged the planning legal advice service will cover:

1. Local Plan processing, including examination in public;

2. Planning applications and associated documentation;

3. Neighbourhood plans;

4. Legal challenges.

The contract is expected to operate for a period of between three to five years, but this may vary according to how, and the speed at which, the Manydown project progresses as a whole.

Basingstone and Deane said it had received ten offers. The contract was awarded to Pinsent Masons on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender in terms of cost (weighting 40), team responsibilities (weighting 30) and method statement (weighting 30).