Jonathan Phillips
Partner, Planning
Head of Hospitality and Leisure
Jonathan is a planning expert in the hospitality and leisure sector and works to create high-end entertainment venues.

Jonathan is a planning expert in the hospitality and leisure sector and works to create high-end entertainment venues.

Jonathan heads up our national Hospitality and Leisure Planning team and is based in our Mayfair and Oxford offices. His client list includes national high street brands, Michelin Star chefs and a wealth of independent entrepreneurs, as well as Premier League footballers and major landowners.
From refurbishing Gordon Ramsay’s Savoy Grill, housed in the iconic and listed Savoy Hotel, to being the retained planning advisor to the 4,800 venue Stonegate Pub Company, he has created operations that really make a difference to the industry.
Jonathan is much more than a planning advisor and has been described by Queen’s Counsel as ‘a formidable expert in his field’. In this dynamic and ever-changing world, he devotes time to every client to understand their exact needs and wants.
Jonathan works with internationally renowned clients – global superstars. He has supported the growth of the Stonegate Pub Company from 200 to 4,800 venues and as planning advisor has overseen the growth of Flight Club throughout the UK.
Key relevant project experience
Securing al fresco dining and drinking areas for pub chains, hotels and restaurants in Central London and throughout England and Wales.
Extended hours of use at nightclubs, bars, hotels, restaurants, hot food takeaways and function rooms in 5 star hotels.
Successful planning and enforcement appeals for new shopfronts, external alterations and signage in Covent Garden, Brompton Road, Edgware Road, Piccadilly, The Strand and Tottenham Court Road.
The major refurbishment of Grade II* and Grade II Listed buildings in Central London and most other major cities in England and Wales.
Applications and appeals nationwide for new units operated by:
• Brunning & Price
• Gordon Ramsay Holdings
• Pizza Express
• Flight Club and Electric Shuffle
• Bounce, Hijingo and Puttshack
• Nightcap
• London Cocktail Club
• Metropolitan Gaming
Oxford Science Enterprises would not hesitate to recommend the Bidwells team. Simply put, we would not want to undertake a project without them
Accreditations

It is time to level up the Agent of Change principle so that its objective is actually realised
The Agent of Change principle has been with us for some years now, dutifully enshrined in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The principle seeks to protect existing and lawful noise generating operations from proposals for new noise-sensitive developments, particularly residential accommodation, but is it really having a meaningful effect?

Will there be life in town centres? Yes, but not as we know it
Another announcement from the Government on new Class E uses, deals another blow to the Hospitality, Retail and Leisure sector. Jonathan Phillips, Planning Partner, explains the latest permitted development right and what that means to town centres as we know it.

Use Class and Permitted Development regulations - How are they changing the high street landscape?
Following the High Court's ruling of a legal challenge against the changes to the Use Class Order and General Permitted Development Order, Jonathan Phillips, Planning Partner, gives his view on the impact of the regulation changes on one of the hardest hit industries during the pandemic and how these are already demonstrating a change in the high street landscape.

Introducing a unique customer experience venue to the capital of Wales

The total transformation of a cozy gastro pub in the heart of Warwickshire

Opening the first Flight Club outside London – in Manchester

Gordon Ramsay Holdings needed specialist hospitality and leisure planning advice and a quick turnaround - only a team with our expertise could pull it off.
