Luke Cottrell
Senior Planning and Development Consultant
BSc (Hons), MSc, MRTPI
After graduating in the summer of 2020 from the University of Birmingham, with BSc (Hons), Luke joined the RCA team in July 2020.
Luke now works full time as a Planning and Development Consultant, managing planning applications, financial viability assessments and development valuations. Luke is currently undertaking a MSc Urban Planning degree at the University of Birmingham, in pursuit of gaining full accredited membership to the RTPI alongside his work commitments.
In his spare time Luke enjoys some quality time with his dog, being at the gym or a game of football, either watching or playing.
36 new homes in Warsop, Mansfield - Financial Viability Assessment (Client: Taylor Reed Homes) Luke undertook a financial viability assessment (FVA) to reduce the requested Section 106 contributions on a 36 residential unit scheme, at an allocated site in Warsop, Mansfield. Prior to RCA’s involvement, the scheme had faced particular difficulty, as an uplift clause associated with the site constrained its viability significantly, meaning a reduction in S106 was pivotal to the scheme’s success. After considering the values for each proposed unit, the assumed build costs and the overage associated with the uplift clause, the residual land value for the site was proven to be below that of the site’s benchmark land value. Negotiation with the district council’s independent viability assessor resulted in a successful reduction in S106 by over 40%.
148 new homes in Wellingborough - Red Book Valuation (Client: Stonewater) For one of RCA’s regular clients, Luke produced a Red Book Valuation for the site and the individual units on a consented scheme consisting of 148 new homes. The valuation has since undergone a number of updates that have considered the site for both a 100% affordable scheme and for a 70 affordable unit scheme. A market assessment informed the values that were included in a residual land value appraisal along with the associated costs of development. Additionally, an assessment of rental values within the neighbouring area, allowed Luke to produce affordable housing calculations for a range of tenures, including social rent, affordable rent, shared ownership and rent-to-buy. Luke also assessed each unit type’s existing use values as of 1st January 1999.
Planning Site Search Compendium (Client: Taylor Wimpey) Luke led a team that had been instructed by Taylor Wimpey plc (TW) to undertake an in-depth search for pipeline sites for potential procurement and development, within 19 local authorities that make up the TW West Midlands patch. A data trawl of each authorities’ allocation and preferred options documents allowed the team to sift and sort through 1000s of sites, narrowing down to those with the most potential. A critical planning view was made for each site to produce a document that provided over 500 opportunity sites, of which a number have already been brought forward for proposed residential schemes, of which RCA are also managing.