Our team
Harry is Managing Director of DDR & Partners and leads the firm's commercial strategy, planning consultancy and client advisory work. A chartered surveyor with over a decade of experience across land, planning and development, his track record spans site identification, planning strategy, application management, deal structuring, negotiation and disposal — a breadth of experience that very few consultants in this sector can match.
What distinguishes Harry's approach is that it is informed by direct experience on both sides of the process. He has not only advised on planning and development — he has delivered it. His background includes residential development, giving him first-hand technical knowledge of construction, design, viability and delivery programming. That means when he appraises a site or recommends a planning strategy, the advice is grounded in what can actually be built, what it will cost, and whether the numbers work. It is planning consultancy with a commercial conscience.
Harry has run multiple businesses over the past ten years, bringing strong financial and accounting capability to DDR alongside his planning and surveying expertise. He oversees the firm's financial management, commercial reporting and cost tracking, and brings a level of commercial rigour to site appraisals and deal structures that ensures clients make informed decisions rather than hopeful ones.
He is currently undertaking his Assessment of Professional Competence with a view to gaining AssocRTPI accreditation, adding formal planning credentials to the commercial, financial and surveying expertise he already brings to the table.
His particular strengths lie in strategic planning advice, site appraisal, client relationship management, deal structuring, financial analysis and negotiation. He is known for giving direct, honest advice — including the advice people do not always want to hear — and for a tenacious, commercially sharp approach to getting the best outcome for his clients.
Outside of work, Harry is a keen shot, golfer and cook. He is a family man with three young children and is due to be sworn in as a Liveryman of the Merchants of the Staple of England at the St George's Feast in April 2026.
Hugh is a Director of DDR & Partners and the firm's planning lead. He brings deep expertise in planning consultancy, site appraisal and development strategy, with a detailed knowledge of planning policy at both local and national level. He has managed planning applications across multiple local authorities, from permission in principle through to full applications and condition discharge, and has advised landowners across hundreds of sites on how to identify and realise the development potential of their land.
Hugh's background in land promotion gave him first-hand experience of the gap between planning theory and delivery reality — a gap that DDR was specifically designed to close. He understands what happens after a consent is granted: the deal negotiation, the legal coordination, the commercial dynamics that determine whether a planning permission actually translates into value. That full-picture perspective makes him equally comfortable advising a landowner on a complex deal structure as he is navigating a planning committee.
He is a law graduate and holds associate membership of both the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Royal Town Planning Institute. That breadth of qualification — planning, surveying, legal — means he can see a site from every angle and advise accordingly.
Hugh's approach is thorough, informed and persistent. He gives opinions, holds firm in negotiations, and does not leave stones unturned. He is known for a phenomenal memory for planning policy detail and a sharp instinct for where value sits in a deal.
Outside of work, Hugh is a man of many pursuits. He is a keen shot, fisherman, forager, cricketer and runner — having recently completed a marathon at Goodwood Circuit in aid of WISE (Wetherby in Support of the Elderly), a charity close to his heart and one where he serves as an active trustee. He is a Liveryman of the Merchant of the Staple of England and the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers, and was recently made a trustee of the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers Trust, where he mentors apprentice gunmakers supported by bursaries granted by the trust. He is currently working towards his Grade 2 piano — proof that persistence applies beyond planning applications.
Hugh can often be found driving his Land Rover through the North Yorkshire countryside with his dog Monty by his side.
Charlotte is Associate Director of DDR & Partners and the person responsible for making sure the firm actually runs. She oversees DDR's operational systems, manages legal progression across all projects, coordinates planning applications and associated consultants, and ensures every instruction moves cleanly from first conversation through to sale and completion. If something needs to happen on time, in the right order, and to the right standard, Charlotte is the reason it does.
Her background spans asset management, project coordination and commercial administration, with particular experience in managing the legal, planning and sales workstreams that underpin complex land transactions. Before DDR, Charlotte worked in land promotion where she developed a sharp understanding of what it takes to move a project from appraisal to delivery without anything falling through the cracks.
Charlotte is currently undertaking her Assessment of Professional Competence with a view to gaining AssocRTPI accreditation — a reflection of her growing expertise in the planning discipline and her commitment to professional development alongside the operational role she already excels in.
She brings strong organisational capability, a sharp eye for quality and a genuine commitment to ensuring that every client interaction reflects the firm's values. She is a key point of contact for clients throughout their journey with DDR, providing continuity, clear communication and a calm, professional presence that landowners in particular value during what is often a stressful process.
Outside of work, Charlotte is preparing to marry her partner Matt in June — and has approached the wedding with the same forensic attention to detail she brings to project management. She is a committed dog lover with a particular weakness for dachshunds, and tends a vegetable allotment that keeps the Bowcliffe office reliably stocked with fresh produce throughout the year.
Built to fix what was broken
Harry Dee and Hugh Douglas-Roberts spent years working at the sharp end of land promotion and development in Yorkshire. They saw the same problems repeated on site after site — landowners left unrepresented, planning consents that could not be delivered, and knowledge lost as clients were passed between departments and firms.
DDR was created to bring the full picture together. Founded in 2025 by Harry, Hugh and Charlotte Nicholson, the firm combines planning consultancy, development advisory and agency in one practice, with the same people guiding each client from first conversation to completion.
The ambition is not to be the biggest consultancy in the country. It is to be the most trusted.
Our track record spans permission in principle, outline, full, reserved matters and Section 73 applications across multiple local authority areas including Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Selby and the East Riding. We have structured promotion and option agreements, negotiated complex land transactions, and managed disposals on sites ranging from single plots to multi-phase residential schemes.