Every year, thousands of homeowners apply for planning permission and come away battered and bruised. As a council case officer, Martin Gaine was part of the problem, continuously rejecting applications from poorly prepared applicants. Seeing that they were getting a raw deal, he founded Just Planning, a consultancy dedicated to helping homeowners to beat the planners.

How to Get Planning Permission is a lively and accessible guide for homeowners. It is full of practical detail and real-life case studies. Its 6-step programme explains how to:

- choose the right designer

- exploit Permitted Development rights (where permission is not required at all)

- understand how planning decisions are really made

- apply tactically and effectively

- deal with a refusal

- avoid the agony of enforcement.

Martin explains how to decide, in the first instance, what kinds of extensions you really need (size isn't everything) and how to get the best professional advice.

He describes the main permitted development rights and pulls back the curtain on the planning decision making process - how to understand, apply and overcome planning policies, how different types of extensions are assessed in practice, how to manage neighbour objections and how to build rapport with your case officer.

The book explains why a refusal of planning permission is not the end of the road - it can be a constructive part of the planning journey and some permissions will only ever be secured at appeal.

Martin Gaine decided thousands of planning applications in various councils before founding Just Planning, the only consultancy in England focused on digging homeowners out of planning holes.

Planning is not a fair fight, but with the professional insight, advice and strategies Martin lays out in How to Get Planning Permission you can stack the odds in your favour. Martin provides insights and advice based on decades of planning practice, laying bare his strategies for us all to use. If you want to extend your home, start here.