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Quick Tips: What’s a frequent post planning delay for civil engineering?

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In our latest video, the Brookbanks civil engineering share some quick tips on a question that many developers and stakeholders face: What's a frequent post planning delay for civil engineering?

While securing planning consent is a major milestone, it’s often just the beginning of a complex journey. The team breaks down the key factors that can slow progress—and shares practical insights on how to navigate them.

1. Coordination between the design team:

  • With many people from several different disciplines working on the same project, delays from miscommunication or misunderstanding can happen. Regular meetings with the whole team are important to help everting run smoothly.

 

2. Separation between planning and technical approvals:

  • One of the most frequent causes of delay is the technical approval process. Whether it’s highways, drainage, or structures, securing sign-off from adopting authorities can take months, especially when requirements are unclear or inconsistent. The team emphasises the importance of early engagement and robust design submissions to streamline this stage.

 

Detailed image of a black pencil resting on architectural blueprints, ideal for design and planning themes.

3. Initial technical work is not robust enough: 

  • Lack of information can really hinder the design and planning process. Doing GAP analysis, having a project risk register and an engineer with experience in the planning process can speed things up and flush out any lack of information or detail.

 

4. Discharge of conditions

  • Another common issue is the discharge of conditions. You have to go into it with a detailed understanding of the conditions, with a strong strategy.

Brookbanks advocates for a proactive approach—identifying critical conditions early and preparing discharge packages in parallel with technical design.

Final Thoughts

Delays post-planning are often avoidable, but only with the right foresight, coordination, and technical rigour. At Brookbanks, we work closely with clients to anticipate these challenges and keep infrastructure delivery on track.

Watch the full video to hear more from our civil engineering team and learn how to de-risk your next project.

Members in the video

Mark Baldwin, Senior Associate Director at Brookbanks
Senior Associate Director

Mark Baldwin

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Principal Engineer

Phillip Baker

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Richard Moorcroft, Group Technical Director at Brookbanks
Group Technical Director

Richard Moorcroft

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Ryan Meade, Head of Civil Engineering at Brookbanks
Head of Civil Engineering

Ryan Meade

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Siobhan McGlynn, Principal Engineer at Brookbanks
Principal Engineer

Siobhán McGlynn

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Siobhan Murphy, Technical Director at Brookbanks
Technical Director

Siobhan Murphy

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Tom Mitchell, Technical Director at Brookbanks
Technical Director

Tom Mitchell

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