Our top-ranked team advise on all aspects of planning throughout England, Wales and Scotland.

Whether it’s a complex city centre site or a large tract of rural land, clients rely on our expertise and detailed technical knowledge to help successfully navigate their way through what has become a highly complex process. With a team of dedicated planning lawyers, comprising five partners and six other lawyers, we are at the forefront of strategic development and are regularly appointed to give specialist advice on a wide range of planning issues including:

  • planning hearings and public inquiries;
  • strategic planning advice;
  • judicial review;
  • planning permissions and agreements; and
  • compulsory purchase and compensation.

Our service

We partner with clients on all aspects of their transactions, helping them to navigate highly technical issues to deliver commercially sound solutions in line with agreed strategies...

Our approach to service delivery is what sets us apart. In every project we focus exclusively on our clients’ needs and key objectives, helping them to anticipate problems and identify solutions to ensure smooth delivery of multi-faceted complex projects.

Our clients

We are a practice with unparalleled expertise in large-scale energy projects across the UK. We have advised on a number of section 36 applications in Scotland and DCO applications in England and Wales and we have a high success rate of winning planning inquiries for consenting onshore wind to the offshore market.

We are also widely viewed as the ‘go-to’ firm for planning advice on strategic residential developments, representing Taylor Wimpey, Miller Homes, Barratt, David Wilson Homes, Mactaggart and Mickel and Gladman Developments.

Our retail experience is also second to none: we advise British Land and Sainsbury’s on all of their Scottish projects.  We have also advised John Lewis & Partners in relation to Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow, and City of Edinburgh Council on the redevelopment of St James Centre (St James Quarter) in Edinburgh.

  • Shepherd and Wedderburn have an enviable reputation across Scotland for a broad range of planning expertise, and are considered industry-leading experts in housebuilding and energy planning matters.

  • They are practical and pragmatic. They never lack for service and there's a lot of strength and depth there.

  • They're excellent – without fault.

  • They go the extra mile in terms of commitment.

  • Shepherd and Wedderburn‘s market-leading reputation is underscored by its portfolio of high-end work, with particular strengths in industries such as energy, residential development and retail.

  • They have a very good depth of resources and cross-function capability.
Meet the team

Experience

The City of Edinburgh Council
Advised the Council in connection with planning and compulsory purchase issues (including defending a legal challenge brought to the Compulsory Purchase Order) associated with the redevelopment of the St James Centre, Edinburgh.
Local planning authorities (various)
Working with a number of local planning authorities in a special advisory role in relation to early stage projects where the local authority is involved as developer/landowner.
Coul Links Limited
Supporting the construction of an 18-hole golf course near Dornoch in the Scottish Highlands within 800 acres of coastal land.
Moda Living Limited
Acted for Moda in securing planning permission (summer of 2018) for a ‘build to rent’ development in Glasgow City Centre.
Moray Offshore Windfarm
Acted as sole legal advisors on the planning, environment and property aspects of EDP Renewables’ second offshore wind development in the Moray Firth (West and East).
The Royal High School Preservation Trust
Advised the Trust throughout the planning process to secure planning permission for the redevelopment of the former Royal High School in Edinburgh to create a new campus for St Mary’s Music School.
NNG
Advising on the planning and consenting aspects of the sale of Neart na Gaoithe Offshore Wind Ltd to EDF Energy Renewables.