The following Terms and Conditions apply to all work carried out by MDP, Mark Doodes Planning.
- Unless specifically agreed in writing to the contrary, the Client is the person, company, Authority or other body to whom the terms & conditions are addressed. The parties to the contract are you as the Client and us, Mark Doodes Planning, as “the Company”, which is a trading name of Local Authority Solutions Ltd.
- Unless expressly agreed in writing to the contrary, these terms and conditions shall not be treated as varied or waived and they shall have precedence over any other terms and / or conditions contained in other documents or letters.
- If, following receipt of our fee proposal, you instruct the Company to proceed or to continue with our services, you accept the Company's fee proposal and these terms and conditions. Payment of your deposit or first instalment is considered tantamount to your agreement to said terms.
- The basic services to be performed by the Company are described in the Fee Proposal. The client contact’s full name, contact information and signature shall be provided to The Company as soon as practicable.
- Any subsequent variation to the services (from those set out in our fee proposal) must be agreed in writing with the Company. Any additional or alternative work arising from such an agreed variation or undertaken as additional services to that set out in our fee proposal and requested by you or arising from compliance with your instructions or factors outside our control, shall be subject to additional or alternative charges, which will always be agreed in writing in advance of this charge taking place. The standard hourly rate is £200/hr + VAT unless otherwise quoted or agreed.
- The Company's fees and expenses for this instruction, as set out in our fee proposal, remain open for acceptance for a period of two months from the date of our fee proposal. If your proposal is a “fixed fee”, disbursement expenses will normally be non-chargeable. All abortive work is to be charged at Standard Rates.
- Services will not be commenced until the Company is in receipt of the client’s agreement and instruction to proceed via email, signed Terms & Conditions and signed Fee Proposal.
- Consumer Contracts Regulations – The Regulations now allow for a ‘cooling off period’ for domestic consumer clients which means that the consumer (the client) may cancel the contract without giving reason, at any time unless specifically agreed in writing to the contrary, within the 14 days following the period when the contract is entered into (i.e. from the permission to proceed date) unless the client, where a prompt start on the project is required (i.e. within 14 days) has waived this right on the signed fee proposal form, forming part of this agreement.
- Unless otherwise agreed in writing, invoices will include reimbursable costs and expenses associated with the work for travel, accommodation, subsistence, printing, Ordnance Survey plans, 3rd party consultancy and any other reasonable expenses. Again, if the fee proposal is on a “fixed fee” basis, 3rd party consultancy will not normally be re-charged; however, third party consultants can be appointed directly by the Client. Where the Company instruct and pay a 3rd party service provider on your behalf, a 15% (plus VAT) facility fee will be added to cover administration of both the payment and re-invoicing, risk, insurance and tendering costs.
- Invoices will be generated monthly from the start of our services, unless stated otherwise in our fee proposal, by means of a payment plan. Payment in full is due within 10 days of receipt of the invoice. The Company reserves the right to charge interest on any amount owing after 21 days at 5% above the prevailing Bank of England base rate. The Company reserves the right to suspend work or withdraw applications / projects where accounts are outstanding after 28 days following the date of the invoice.
- Any dispute or query by the Client on the content of any invoice must be raised with the Company within seven days of the date of the invoice. If the Company does not receive any dispute or query within that time the invoice shall be deemed to have been accepted by the Client.
- External costs to be incurred on the Client's behalf, such as Local Authority, statutory fees and Counsel’s costs, are fully payable by the Client in advance. The Company reserves the right not to proceed with the commission until such time as full payment for all external costs has been made by the Client.
- If the fee proposal includes success fee(s) (ie; a further payment if consent is granted), in the event that the project is abandoned by the client (ie; not built out), the client will incur fees payable for works completed to date. The same clause applies if a planning application or appeal is withdrawn at the landowners or clients behest, the fee is still payable as if permission had been granted.
- In respect of building control (construction drawings), clients are firmly advised not to order any materials until the Building Control Inspector have approved the building control plans. This is because specifications can change between submissions and approved versions.
- Should the works be cancelled by the Client outside of the 14 day cooling off period and a deposit has been paid this will not be refunded. If the full fees amount has been paid then the Company will retain 25% of the full amount and the remainder will be refunded to the client. Where no monies have been paid then the work undertaken by the Company to date will be charged to the Client hourly at our standard rate.
- If the works are cancelled by the Company due to unforeseen circumstances then the deposit paid will be fully refunded. If the works are cancelled due to unreasonable behaviour of the Client then the Client will remain liable for the payment of the project to date and no deposit monies will be refunded.
- The Company reserves the right to request payment on account prior to works being undertaken on behalf of the client.
- The Company reserves the right to demand settlement of all due fees immediately prior to submission of planning application.
- The Company will exercise reasonable skill and care in carrying out our services and may make variations in the scope of works. In doing so, the Company will exercise its professional judgement in the interests of progressing a submission or avoiding work not central to the case, such as (but not limited to) undertaking sequential testing on land which is subsequently allocated or gathering data on parts of a site to which no development is proposed. We shall only be liable in connection with carrying out our services under this clause. No liability under this clause will be accepted where a client disrupts, interferes or otherwise sabotages the planning prospects of a site, whatever their motivation. This includes but is not limited to objecting to one’s own proposals, not duly signing legal agreements with care and attention, directly withdrawing your submission or failing to pay third parties upon whom ongoing input is required.
- Any sums due and remaining unpaid at 30 days after the date of issue of an account from The Company shall bear interest in accordance with the provisions of Late payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Regulations 2002. Additional charges may be levied to cover the costs of administration and legal representation in relation to the recovery of such outstanding fees.
- The liability of the Company for any loss or damage arising out of any action or proceedings referred to in this clause, in any event be limited to a sum not exceeding GBP 250,000.
- The Company shall not be liable for the performance of any other professional specialist firms or third parties engaged. The Company acts as an agent for and on behalf of the Client to further the planning prospects of land. Implementing a planning strategy requires the Company to have reasonable control over the submission, any amendments and appeal timing.
- The Company shall not be responsible for any financial or other loss incurred by the Client as a result of any negligent performance or advice given by such other professional specialist firm, sub-consultants or third party.
- The Company shall not be liable for the payment of the fees and disbursements incurred by such other professional specialist firms or third party.
- When acting on your behalf or as your agent, you agree to indemnify the Company against all claims against the Company, except to the extent that any liability arises as a result of any breach of Clause 17.
- The Company shall not be liable for any breach of this contract if the relevant action in respect of that breach is commenced more than four years after completion of our services in respect of the relevant commission.
- This contract is personal to you, the Client, and the services and all written reports or other communications shall be for your benefit only and shall not be passed to any other person or organisation without the Company's written consent.
- The Company will have a general lien on all documents, papers, files etc. in our possession relating to any commission(s) or project(s) for which invoices remain outstanding.
- The Company shall be under no liability if we are unable to carry out any, or all of, our services for reasons beyond our control, including (but not limited to): Acts of God, acts of terrorism, and changes in legislation, riots, war, fire, flood, drought, serious personal injury, or failure of power supply. During the continuance of such a contingency either party may, by written notice to the other, terminate the Company’s services or the Client shall pay for all work carried out and disbursements incurred by the Company up to that time.
- The Company will observe the bylaws, regulations and guidelines of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and at all times will observe the RTPI's Code of Professional Conduct.
- The Company will effect professional indemnity insurance cover in accordance with the guidelines set out by the RTPI. In no circumstances shall the liability of the Company to the Client at any time exceed the amount (if any) recoverable by the Company at that time under the terms of its professional indemnity insurance cover.
- The copyright in all of the services prepared for the Client shall remain with the Company.
- This contract does not confer any rights on anyone other than the parties to it.
- If services are provided on a fixed fee basis, a fair and reasonable “use” clause applies. Where excessive client-led reworking is found to have taken place then additional fees will apply at standard rates.
- Images taken and subsequently provided to the client may be used on our website or other promotional material unless requested otherwise by the client.
- All outputs will be provided electronically, if paper copies are required, particularly of large-scale plans, these will incur charges.
- The Company is not liable for the administration, payment or exemption submission of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). Also, the Company is not liable for the completion of all forms including but not limited to, the Assumption of Liability, the Commencement of Development, the Completion of the Development, and the eligibility (or otherwise) of Self-Build CIL Exemption, unless otherwise agreed, in writing as part of an instruction, between the Company and the Client.
- No responsibility is taken for clients, or their appointed contractors, not undertaking works in accordance with approved plans, reports, surveys or the same in the context of planning conditions approved pursuant to a planning consent. Any deviation made is made solely at the risk of the client in respect of consequences under Section 171 of the Town Planning Act 1990 in respect of remedial / demolition / reinstatement work and / or the costs of retrospectively making any submissions under the planning or building control or regime.
The law of England and Wales is the law of this contract.
Mark Doodes Planning
Registered in England and Wales company no. 05871810
VAT Registration no. 885662277
Registered office address: 130 High Street, Marlborough, SN8 1LZ