p&paproject & planning advisory ltd

Start-Ready guides

Clear answers before a residential project becomes a serious commitment.

Each public guide addresses one owner decision, states its limits and links to the relevant primary sources where applicable.

How the guides are prepared

Direct answers, defined scope and traceable sources.

01The answer comes first

The opening explains what the reader can and cannot conclude.

02The author is identified

The company and author responsible for the guide are stated.

03Primary sources are linked

Government, regulator and statutory guidance is linked where it governs the issue.

04The limits are visible

No guide implies a certificate, legal opinion or authority to start.

Current guides

Read the issue before deciding what to ask next.

Published guides are available now. Material still in preparation is clearly labelled.

01
Planning and start readiness · Decision guide

Can a builder start once planning permission is granted?

A plain-English distinction between having permission and having a coordinated, supportable route to construction.

PublishedOpen guide →
02
Contractor and commercial · Payment checklist

What to check before paying a builder’s deposit or mobilisation sum

A client-side checklist for understanding what a substantial early payment buys, what protects it and what becomes due next.

PublishedOpen guide →
03
Planning conditions · Evidence register

Pre-commencement planning conditions: an owner’s evidence check

How to identify conditions that must be addressed before the relevant development starts and record the evidence supporting discharge.

PublishedOpen guide →
04
Freeholder and managing agent · Consent pathway

Licence to alter readiness guide

What to establish before leasehold works are treated as designed, tender-ready or ready to start.

PublishedOpen guide →
05
Project information control · Working template

Residential project evidence register

A concise record of the documents, dates, revisions and decisions relied upon when a residential project moves towards construction.

PublishedOpen guide →
06
Neighbours and access · Dependency map

Party Wall, access, scaffold and oversailing: four different questions

A guide to separating statutory Party Wall matters from access, scaffold, crane oversailing and neighbour agreements.

PublishedOpen guide →
07
Programme readiness · Diagnostic briefing

Five reasons a proposed residential start date may not yet be supported

A cross-workstream explanation of why a plausible date can still depend on unresolved approvals, information and agreements.

PublishedOpen guide →
08
Client communication · Communication template

Mobilisation payment confirmation request

A structured request for the contractor to confirm the basis, protections, deliverables and programme consequences of an early payment.

DevelopingOpen guide →
09
Worked example · Anonymised case format

Anatomy of a Start-Ready case record

An anonymised format showing how a self-reported warning becomes a professionally prioritised decision route, and when evidence-led work is required.

Method exampleOpen guide →
10
Market evidence · Findings report

Quarterly Start-Ready findings

A transparent, aggregated note on repeated readiness gaps, questions and action patterns identified through the service.

Evidence gatheringOpen guide →

Editorial responsibility

Written for decisions, reviewed for accuracy.

Published by Planning & Project Advisory Ltd. The library is overseen by Anthony Lilley in London and draws on planning, design coordination and owner-side project delivery experience.

Review date: 26 August 2026. Geographic scope: England, with project-specific advice required where legislation, property documents or local authority requirements differ.