Planning is entering a pivotal phase.With a new government in place and reforms underway, the planning system is undergoing significant change - amplified by persistent supply-demand imbalances across the real estate market. Developers, housebuilders, investors, funders and strategic land promoters are navigating shifting policy, legislative updates and the viability pressures this can bring.

Shoosmiths helps clients unlock development success. We advise on all aspects of planning, highways and compulsory purchase law, supporting clients across the UK on projects that shape places and communities. Our national team brings deep expertise in strategic land, master planning, infrastructure agreements, environmental law and delivery. We provide commercially focused advice on assembly, viability and risk, helping clients respond to change with confidence. Recognised as a top three UK planning law firm, we combine technical excellence with real-world understanding - partnering with clients to realise their ambitions and deliver impact.

Recent experience

• supported Watkin Jones in securing its plans for The Àrd – a 784-bed purpose-built student accommodation led mixed-use development in Glasgow

• advising a joint venture between Hill Residential Limited and Poplar HARCA Projects Limited on the development strategy and Section 106 agreement for the redevelopment of the Teviot Housing Estate in east London

• advising Taylor Wimpey on a nutrient neutrality solution, including a wetland scheme delivering off-site biodiversity units, and the associated Section 106 agreement to unlock residential development

• advising Dollis Hill Wembley LLP (a joint venture between Hill Residential, Hill Partnerships and Pinnacle Investments) on a complex Section 106 agreement to unlock a major mixed-use development across two north London sites, including a new college campus

• providing support to Eurowind Energy in relation to their planning application for their West Scales Energy Park in Dumfries and Galloway, including legal review of the environmental impact assessment

• advising on a 550-unit residential scheme in Norfolk across four linked outline applications, addressing complex nutrient neutrality, heritage and environmental constraints, and negotiating section 106 agreements

• advising on a mixed-use PBSA and commercial development in Camden, incorporating affordable housing, and provides strategic planning advice in connection with an adjoining developer’s consented masterplan scheme which includes the client’s site

• instructed by a consortium of town and parish councils in Cheshire in relation to a short-listed new town proposal that has significant unquantified effects on infrastructure and existing communities