​The following Terms and Conditions apply to all work carried out by MDP, Mark Doodes Planning.

​Parties, Terms and Contract

1.       The "Parties" to the Contract are us (Mark Doodes Planning (MDP), the trading name of Local Authority Solutions Ltd) as the "Company" and you (the person, company, authority or other body to whom the Terms are addressed) as the "Client". The Client shall provide their full name, contact information and signature to the Company as soon as practicable.
2.       Unless expressly agreed in writing to the contrary, the following terms and conditions (the "Terms") apply to all Services carried out by the Company. They shall not be treated as varied or waived and they shall have precedence over any other terms or conditions contained in other documents or letters.
3.       The "Services" to be performed by the Company are described in the "Fee Proposal". Together, the Fee Proposal and Terms form the "Contract".
4.       The acceptance period for the Company's fees and expenses are stated in the Fee Proposal.
5.       Typically, the Services will not be commenced until the Company is in receipt, via email or hard copy, of the Client's instruction to proceed and of the signed Fee Proposal and Terms. If, however, following receipt of the Fee Proposal, the Client issues a written instruction to proceed, the Client is deemed to have accepted the Fee Proposal and Terms. Similarly, payment of a deposit or first instalment is considered tantamount to the Client's acceptance of the Fee Proposal and Terms.
6.       Any variation to the Services from those set out in the Fee Proposal must be agreed in writing with the Company. Any additional or alternative work arising from such a variation, or from factors outside the Company's control, shall be subject to additional or alternative charges, which will be agreed in writing in advance of such charges being incurred. The Company's "Standard Rate", stated on the Fee Proposal, applies to all Services unless otherwise agreed in writing.
7.       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, additional fees will apply at the Standard Rate.

Invoices and payments

8.       Payment terms are stated on the Company's invoices and the payment schedule is stated on the Fee Proposal.
9.       The Company reserves the right to request settlement of all due fees prior to submission of a planning application or appeal.
10.   The Company reserves the right to pause or stop preparing or monitoring an application or appeal, or withdraw an application or appeal, if any invoice remains outstanding 14 days after the invoice due date.
11.   Unless otherwise agreed in writing, invoices will include reimbursable costs and expenses associated with the Services for travel, accommodation, subsistence, printing, third party consultancy and any other reasonable expenses.
12.   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 Services until such time as full payment for all external costs has been made.
13.   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.
14.   The Company reserves the right to charge interest on any late payments at 5% above the prevailing Bank of England base rate, in accordance with the provisions of Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. Additional charges may be levied to cover the costs of administration and legal representation in relation to the recovery of such outstanding fees.
15.   The liability of the Company for any loss or damage arising out of any action or proceedings in relation to the recovery of outstanding fees is limited to a sum not exceeding GBP 250,000.
16.   In the event that the project is abandoned by the Client, or a planning application or appeal is withdrawn at the Client's behest, then any Services undertaken by the Company to date will be charged to the Client and if the Fee Proposal includes a success fee (e.g., a further payment due if consent is granted), the success fee remains payable as if permission had been granted.  Should these charges total less than 25% of the Fee Proposal amount, the Client will instead be charged 25% of the Fee Proposal amount.
17.   If the Services are cancelled by the Company due to perceived unreasonable behaviour of the Client, then no payments from the Client will be refunded and the Client will remain liable for payment for all Services undertaken by the Company.

Third party involvement

18.   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, however, the Company shall not be responsible for the performance of any other professional specialist firms, sub-consultants or third parties engaged.
19.   The Company shall not be liable for any financial or other loss incurred by the Client as a result of any negligent performance or advice given by other such third parties.
20.   The Company shall not be liable for the payment of the fees and disbursements incurred by such third parties.
Outputs of services
21.   This Contract is personal to the Client. The Services and all written reports, plans, surveys, assessments or other communications shall be solely for the Client's benefit and shall not be passed to any other person or organisation without the Company's written consent.
22.   The copyright in all of the Services undertaken and outputs produced shall remain with the Company.
23.   The Company will have a general lien on all documents, papers, files and so on in its possession relating to any commissions or projects for which invoices remain outstanding.
24.   Images and videos provided to the Client may be used on the Company's website or other promotional material unless otherwise requested in writing by the Client.
25.    All outputs will be provided electronically. If paper copies are required, particularly of large-scale plans, these will incur charges.

Liability and obligations
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26.   The Company will exercise reasonable skill and care in carrying out the 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. The Company shall only be liable in connection with carrying out Services under this clause. No liability under this clause will be accepted where the Client disrupts, interferes with, 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 a submission or failing to pay third parties upon whom ongoing input is required.
27.   In respect of building control, the Company shall not be liable for any costs incurred by the Client in ordering any materials before the building control inspector has approved the building control plans since specifications may change between submissions and approved versions.
28.   The Client agrees 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.
29.   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 the Services in respect of the relevant commission.
30.   The Company shall be under no liability if it is unable to carry out any, or all, of the Services for reasons beyond its control, including (but not limited to): acts of God, acts of terrorism, changes in legislation, riots, war, fire, flood, drought, serious personal injury, or failure of power supply. During the continuance of such a contingency, either of the Parties may, by written notice to the other, terminate the Services or the Client shall pay for all Services carried out and disbursements incurred by the Company up to that time.
31.   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.
32.   The Company will hold 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.
33.   This Contract does not confer any rights on anyone other than the Parties to it.
34.   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 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.
35.   The Company takes no responsibility or liability for the Client 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 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.
Governing law
36.   The Contract is governed by and shall be construed in accordance with English law and the jurisdiction of the English Courts whose jurisdiction shall be exclusive in all matters save the enforcement of judgements, where it shall be non-exclusive.
 
Registered company name: Local Authority Solutions Ltd T/A Mark Doodes Planning (MDP)
Registered office address: 130 High Street, Marlborough, SN8 1LZ
Registered company number: 05871810
VAT registration number: 885662277
Last updated: 1st November 2024