Planning & Environmental Solicitors

Helping you to navigate the planning process with zeal and flair

Planning Lawyers

Planning decisions matter. Every day they affect people’s lives. And every day they affect people with aspiring plans. Our planning solicitors support you through the process to achieve the necessary permission for your commercial property developments.

Despite government talk of simplifying the planning system, it remains tough and tedious to navigate. An experienced guide will help you unlock difficult planning issues and obtain the outcome you require. Whether working on small listed buildings or large regeneration projects, our commercially astute town planners and planning lawyers have it covered.

Legal and town planning capabilities

From consenting strategy to legal challenge, we offer comprehensive planning and infrastructure advice for projects of all sizes and complexities. The depth and breadth of our capabilities have earned us a reputation as a leading firm in environmental and planning law, recognised by both the Legal 500 and organisations throughout the UK.

Our planning law solicitors offer wide-ranging expertise:

  • We help a broad range of clients from multinationals to individuals, including housebuilders, commercial developers, planning authorities, and landed estates. Our focus is both private and public sector, with a speciality for housing, energy, healthcare, and education

  • We’re involved in big and innovative development and infrastructure schemes. Our planning lawyers routinely negotiate and advise on sustainable urban extensions and nationally significant infrastructure projects

  • With extensive local government and private sector experience, we are well-positioned to handle all relevant parties and have an exceptional track record of achieving favourable outcomes on behalf of clients

  • We’re equally at home with smaller-scale developments. Our planners lead, shape and coordinate projects to identify sites, resolve issues and deliver planning permissions with skilful aplomb

  • We also help individuals and interest groups concerned about the impact of development on the environment and/or on their local communities, to oppose development proposals on legitimate planning grounds, including, where appropriate, through the courts

Legal planning expertise

Your commercial development project needs planning and environmental lawyers with a strategic mindset and in-depth knowledge of this complex area of law. We work closely with builders, commercial property developers and local authorities to facilitate the right outcome for you.

The planning law expertise in our team covers:

  • Planning agreements and planning obligations such as section 106, deeds of variation and Community Infrastructure Levy regulations

  • Highways agreements

  • Permitted development rights

  • Strategic planning through development plans

  • Judicial reviews, appeals, and advocacy at public hearings and inquiries

  • Enforcement, including lawful use certificates

  • Site assembly, including compulsory purchase orders

  • Heritage, including conservation areas, listed buildings and tree preservation

  • Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (Development Consent Orders)

Town planning expertise

We provide town planners and planning solicitors with an extensive understanding that spans the entire process, including:

  • Strategic land promotion and development plan representations

  • Planning applications and appeals

  • Expert witness at public inquiries and other tribunals

  • Site appraisals and housing land supply analysis

  • Planning objections

The way we help you

Our rare combination of practical, tactical and strategic planning experience means we can steer you through the process – and also drive hard to get the outcomes needed. Crucially, we understand that you want to get on with things quickly.

Taking a holistic approach, we draw upon the expertise of our in-house specialists in related real estate areas to ensure the success of your development proposal. We’ll turn challenges into commercially effective solutions and work with any other professional advisers in your team to achieve your goals.

No two planning projects are ever the same. We use our vast experience to construct tailored advice for your individual needs.

Your journey through the legal process

While you’re clear about your organisation’s commercial property development objectives, it’s also important that you have clarity on how to enlist planning law solicitors. Our straightforward onboarding process ensures we can begin work on your planning proposal as quickly as possible. We’ve provided an overview below to give you peace of mind:

  1. Once you’ve got in touch using the button below, you will be assigned to one of our planning consultants (if you would prefer, we are available to discuss matters on 0330 024 0333).

  2. We will be in touch within the hour to ascertain further information about your commercial development plans and discuss how we can support them.

  3. Having provided a full breakdown of our costs, we give you time to decide if a partnership is right for your organisation – should you wish to proceed, we will send you a pack of onboarding documents.

  4. From this point onwards, your bespoke team of planning lawyers will be committed to ensuring the success of your commercial property proposals.