As Bell Cornwell celebrates 40 years, we caught up with Bell Cornwell’s first ever employee, former Partner, Ian Sowerby, to reflect on memorable moments, standout clients and how the planning profession has evolved over the years.
1. What was the biggest challenge during your time at Bell Cornwell?
The 1990 economic downturn was certainly a testing period. Opening our London, Amersham and Exeter offices also brought plenty of challenges along the way, but they were all part of the firm’s growth and have proven to have been challenges worth the effort.
2. Which client stands out the most?
Lok’nStore (now Shurgard). They were fantastic clients to work with over many years – they valued professional advice, listened carefully and always treated us as trusted advisers.
3. What’s your most memorable meeting?
An afternoon project meeting with Cardinal Basil Hume while working on the Westminster Cathedral Choir School extension. At 5pm the drinks tray appeared, and Cardinal Hume’s wonderfully named secretary, Paddy Victory, quietly advised me to choose the gin and tonic because they’d run out of sherry glasses!
4. Did you ever work with anyone famous?
Yes! I once visited former England rugby captain Will Carling at his Berkshire home. He made me a coffee while I was helping resolve planning issues relating to an unauthorised kitchen extension – all at the height of the Princess Diana headlines.
5. What’s the furthest you’ve gone for a planning committee?
After Bell Cornwell’s Christmas dinner in Basingstoke, I travelled overnight on the sleeper train to Plymouth, grabbed a coffee and croissant, caught a bus to Okehampton and delivered a three-minute presentation to West Devon District Council at 10am. Thankfully, the application was approved!
6. What’s the most unusual project you worked on?
Securing planning permission for the temporary film set of Nanny McPhee, starring Emma Thompson. The set was built on part of Geoffrey Howe’s Hertfordshire estate, and, unsurprisingly, the permission came through rather quickly!
7. How has planning changed the most?
The move from paper files to digital records and online applications transformed the profession. It brought many efficiencies but, in my view, also made it harder to build relationships with planning officers as face-to-face discussions became less common.
8. Is there anything that frustrated you about the profession?
The constant changes to national level planning policy. Governments frequently introduced reforms, but by the time legislation was enacted, it often felt outdated or diluted.
9. What has always remained the same?
Good planning has always been about people. Building trust, giving honest advice and understanding what clients need has never changed.
10. Looking back, what are you most proud of?
Being part of Bell Cornwell’s journey as the business grew, working with fantastic colleagues and clients, and helping deliver projects that made a real difference over many years.
When Bell Cornwell first opened its doors in Hampshire it set out with a clear ambition to provide independent practical advice in an evolving planning landscape. Four decades on, that same ethos continues to underpin the business.
