About Martin Gaine
Martin Gaine worked for many years as a council case officer before realising that some applicants, submitting minor applications, were getting a raw deal from the planning system. He founded Just Planning to provide them with planning services tailored to their needs.
His first encounter with the planning system (as an applicant) was when his own application for a simple extension to his home was refused, without good reason. Though he appealed the refusal, and won, he realised that many householders would have accepted the decision without realising that appealing was a viable option.
Martin read Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) at the University of Oxford and completed a master’s degree in planning at the University of Reading, where he was awarded a distinction. He is a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
He has a keen interest in property, development and planning and writes about planning issues for the Times and the Telegraph, and for Build It Magazine. He also contributes to the ‘Ask the Expert’ section of the Sunday Times Home supplement and the ‘Property Clinic’ section of the Daily Mail, responding to planning queries sent in by readers.
He has written a book about the planning system, ‘How to Get Planning Permission – An Insider’s Secrets’, intended to help homeowners to successfully obtain planning permission for extensions and other smaller developments. His new book, ‘Planning for HMOs’, is coming out in the middle of 2022.
Martin Gaine is a chartered planning consultant and chief executive of Just Planning, a planning consultancy focused on helping homeowners and small developers navigate the planning system.
Martin in the media
