Sutherland Planning Ltd — Town & Country Planning Consultants
01837 608189 Get in Touch

Sutherland Planning Ltd

Your trusted partner in navigating the planning system

Book a Consultation Explore Our Services
Our Services

Planning support at every stage

Planning Applications

Pre-Application Advice

Planning Statements

Appeals & Enforcement

Project Management

Development Plan Representations

About Us

Town & Country Planning Consultants.

Sutherland Planning Ltd was founded in July 2026 by Jim Bailey and Chris Lecointe, two town planning professionals, each with over 40 years' experience and with a shared commitment to high-quality, honest and accessible planning advice.

Jim Bailey, Director at Sutherland Planning Ltd
Director

Jim Bailey

Jim started his career as a Planning Advice Assistant at Rushmoor Council in 1986, before moving into the private sector in 1989. He went on to hold senior roles at Bryant Homes and his own consultancy, then joined DLP in 1996 as a Senior Director running their Berkshire office.

He later worked at Alliance Planning and Pegasus Planning, before Chris recruited him as a Planning Director at RPS (later Tetratech) in Abingdon. After a career break travelling in 2024, he joined Sutherland Property and Legal Services in Plymouth, and in July 2026 he set up Sutherland Planning Ltd with Chris.

jim@sutherlandplanning.com
Chris Lecointe, Director at Sutherland Planning Ltd
Director

Chris Lecointe

Chris began his career with Southampton City Council in 1985, in the development control department. After a few years he decided to join the newly emerging private planning consultancy sector, in particular Chapman Warren in Wroughton near Swindon.

He spent 3 years there and then moved to Oldfield King as a Director based in Bristol, then after another few years joined RPS in Oxfordshire. He was Operational Director at RPS (now Tetratech) for 17 years, looking after the Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Glasgow offices. He managed a multidisciplinary team and for the last ten years specialised in renewable and low carbon energy projects.

chris@sutherlandplanning.com

Read more about our approach

What We Do

Professional planning support at every stage

Pre-Application Advice

Early-stage guidance on constraints, opportunities and likely outcomes — a robust strategy at the outset saves time, cost and uncertainty later.

View all services

Planning Applications

Residential, energy and commercial development applications — prepared, submitted and managed through to a final decision.

View all services

Appeals & Enforcement

Support with enforcement notices, certificates of lawfulness and appeals — we help you challenge decisions or resolve issues constructively.

View all services
Our Approach

Straightforward advice, properly explained

Expert Knowledge

Decades of working with planning authorities across England, Scotland and Wales.

Objective and Insightful

A frank assessment of your chances before you commit.

Personal Service

You deal directly with Jim or Chris — never a junior case handler.

Persistent to the End

From pre-application advice to decision notice, we stay on your case.

Client Feedback

What clients say about working with us

“We'd all but given up after our first application was refused. Sutherland Planning were straight with us about what needed to change, and the resubmission went through without a hitch.”
Private Homeowner Near Okehampton, Devon
“Genuinely knowledgeable about farm diversification and how to present it to the planning committee. Worth every penny for the time it saved us.”
Farm Business Owner Somerset

Read more client stories

Considering a planning application?

Get a free, honest first opinion before you commit to anything.

Get in Touch 01837 608189