Anyone in the planning and infrastructure world will know there’s a mountain of details to nail down before any project can get underway.
Getting the right consent, keeping everyone in the loop, and following all the legal rules are key to smooth project operations. Add to that the growing importance of environmental and sustainable practices, and it’s clear that teams across the country are working in a complex and exciting landscape.
Time and budget are the twin pillars to delivery of your project. That’s where strategic planning and problem-solving comes in. You need lawyers who can deliver impact – we’re here to help with the consenting of projects, no matter the scale, sector, jurisdiction, regime or unique challenges.
Your team
Your planning and infrastructure team
We're pivotal in handling high-profile developments across various sectors, including offshore wind farms, residential schemes, listed buildings, highways, and environmental planning. We handle Development Consent Orders, Transport and Works Act Orders, local and Special Development Orders, Hybrid Bills, and planning permissions.
Our specialist subject? Projects that will help to deliver a just transition to net zero. This includes offshore and onshore wind and solar, battery energy storage systems, heat networks, carbon capture, and hydrogen as well as infrastructure and the built environment. We’re in our element here.
We also dive into this kind of work:
Comprehensive planning, acquisition, and consent advice
Planning enforcement
Transport and works act orders
Compulsory acquisition and compensation claims
Planning appeals and judicial reviews
Parliamentary Roll B agents on hybrid bills
Environmental and regulatory support
Biodiversity net gain and nutrient neutrality
S106 planning and highways agreements
Community infrastructure levy
Highways, public rights of way, and footpath orders
Village greens
Major housing and regeneration schemes.
Policies are important. Our influence scales through our involvement with trade associations and government bodies, including Renew Renewable UK’s Offshore Wind Delivery and Offshore Consents and Licensing Groups, National Infrastructure Planning Association, Compulsory Purchase Association, International Rights of Way Association, UK Environmental Law Association, Chartered Institute of Waste Management, Society for the Environment, Women in Planning, and Women in Property.
Want to get a full picture of our experience in securing consents and planning permissions? Explore our DCO project locations map here.
In need of a planning and infrastructure lawyer? Look no further.
At Womble Bond Dickinson we have an exceptional, award-winning team of lawyers and business professionals who can offer guidance and find the solutions right for your business. We have both broad and niche expertise across all our UK and US offices.
In the last five years, we've advised more than 45 local authorities, and over 50 Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects in the Development Consent Order regime. This includes:
Norfolk Vanguard / Norfolk Boreas (Vattenfall) offshore wind farms, including submitting and examining the DCO applications, and advising on the judicial review of the Norfolk Vanguard DCO
Ambition Community Energy (CIC) on the planning, property, commercial, construction, and funding aspects for the development of a 4.2MW community wind project
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on its New Prison Programme providing planning advice to help the MoJ deliver much needed expansion to its prison estate nationally, including planning appeals and negotiating a range of infrastructure agreements
A government department securing planning permission for a number of projects including through the promotion of Special Development Orders, permitted development and reviewing environmental impact assessments
National Grid on successfully obtaining development consent for its Yorkshire GREEN Energy Enablement Project and various compulsory acquisition matters
A health service provider in relation to the redevelopment of a former hospital to create a new life sciences cluster in collaboration with a higher education establishment
This is Gravity on the largest ever adopted local development order in the UK: a major net zero smart campus and community which permitted 1.1 million square metres of advanced manufacturing, supporting up to 7,000 jobs
National Highways in relation to successfully obtaining development consent for six projects. With a further project being examined in 2024
Bristol Airport Limited on the expansion from 10 million to 12 million passengers per year, including the planning and CPO applications, the subsequent successful 10 week planning and CPO public inquiry, and the successful defence of statutory challenge in the High Court (and Court of Appeal)
Watford Borough Council on the Charter Place regeneration involving land assembly and planning
Fosse Green Energy Limited on a proposed Development Consent Order to deliver a new solar and energy storage park and infrastructure to connect into the national grid in North Kesteven. The project will have a generating capacity of c.350 megawatts
Solar 21 Renewable Energy Limited on an energy recovery facility which will generate a maximum of 95 megawatts of electrical output and/or 380 megawatts of thermal output to provide power, heat, and steam on the site of the operating Flixborough Wharf on the River Trent
Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership on a series of Transport and Works Act transit schemes in Cambridge.
Want to get a full picture of our experience in securing consents and planning permissions? Explore our DCO project locations map here.
Testimonials
"They have an extremely strong grasp of complex matters and provide useful early foresight of potential risks and issues on projects".
Chambers and Partners 2025
"The team brings a diverse range of experience and expertise including technical and interpersonal skills, which helped generate creative solutions to the challenges we faced".
Chambers and Partners 2025
"Womble Bond Dickinson provide comprehensive responses that give us reassurance and confidence in the advice".
Chambers and Partners 2025
"All members of the team have high levels of expertise. They consistently provide an excellent and efficient service combined with a very personable approach. They are aware of the market and commercial implications, and give practical and strategic advice in that context".
Legal 500 2025
“Excellent and genuinely close-knit team, and refreshingly female-led, which is rare in the planning world. Particularly strong on major infrastructure work and provides as good a service as anywhere in the country. There is a good mix of senior and junior resources, and the project teams that I have seen have been well balanced, with good partner availability.”
Legal 500, 2024
“The firm has an excellent team with real in-depth knowledge. It is an excellent planning practice offering superb client service.”
Chambers and Partners UK, 2024
“It has a wide range of specialists who are able to deal with a variety of issues.”
Chambers and Partners, 2024
The judges said: “The breadth of legal work and the issues involved across these high-profile projects is simply staggering.”
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