Sam joined Firstplan in 2007. He retains a wide portfolio of clients, including large landowners, development companies, cinemas, schools and many high street operators. Sam continues to work on a range of different proposals throughout the UK, across all stages of the planning system, from plan forming and development briefs with, amongst others, National Grid; development proposals for a variety of uses, including residential, mixed use, commercial and community functions, school expansions and cinemas; and has secured permission for refurbishment, extension and reconfiguration of numerous heritage assets.

Kate started her career at Firstplan and now has a wide ranging project experience, from residential developments, minerals and waste planning, mixed-use development and restaurants to complex heritage issues, green belt and metropolitan open land proposals.  She has a particular skill with environmental considerations and works with a broad range of clients including national institutional investors and developers.

Sally has over 25 years of experience of working in the private sector.  She has a proven track record of successfully delivering planning permissions for complex projects which meet the commercial interests of clients.  She has been retained by a number of national operators and developers to secure consents and to provide strategic advice.  She has particular expertise in the retail, logistics, industrial and trade sectors.

Michael acts on behalf of predominantly private sector clients and his experience includes providing planning advice and undertaking retail studies to secure planning consents for supermarkets, non-food retailers warehouse developments and mixed use town centre schemes. He has also been involved in a variety of schemes which include hotel, restaurant, leisure, employment and residential developments.

Mark has approximately 15 years of experience across all development sectors. He specialises in advising and leading on the roll-out of expanding property portfolios with various growing bar, restaurant and leisure operators including Brewdog Bars, Honest Burgers and Marugame. He advises landowners on various issues related to their asset management, and also works on a range of small, medium and large scale residential and mixed-use developments. This includes extensive experience of the expanding co-living sector, and various schemes undertaken under permitted development rights for upward airspace extensions.

Vilna has worked in private practice since 1997, and her extensive experience covers residential, retail and mixed use developments, office, entertainment, restaurant and leisure proposals, intermodal transport developments and regeneration schemes. She has a particular expertise in industrial proposals including remediation schemes and minerals and waste planning and is an associate member of the Mineral Products Association. Vilna has had extensive involvement with planning inquiries, informal hearings and EiPs, and has a wealth of experience in managing large scale applications and appeals, overseeing multidisciplinary teams, and the co-ordination of EIA development proposals.

Mike’s extensive experience includes proposals for town and city centres, retail parks, mixed use schemes, residential developments, offices, leisure, minerals, and industry. He works with leading members of the Planning Bar, and has given evidence at numerous planning and similar inquiries.

Tim has worked in private practice since 2007. He provides town planning advice to a range of clients, including Waitrose, specialist regeneration companies, renewable energy companies and private individuals. Tim has secured planning permission for schemes ranging from small and large scale residential projects to offices, hotels, restaurants, hostels, student accommodation, theatres, schools, Bio-gas projects, petrol filling stations, warehouses and industrial uses up to and including major retail led mixed use regeneration schemes. Tim has significant experience in project management, planning appeals, promoting sites through emerging local plans, and the preparation of planning applications involving listed buildings and conservation areas.

Chloe joined Firstplan in 2021 and has over 7 years’ experience working in the private sector. She has successfully acted on behalf of clients, working on both small and large scale commercial, residential, mixed-use, and roadside development projects. Chloe offers a broad range of planning services including undertaking initial site appraisals and providing strategy advice, site promotion, co-ordinating public engagement exercises, and negotiating the planning application process for clients. She is a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.

Adam joins Firstplan as an Associate, bringing to the firm over a decade’s worth of experience advising public and private sector clients with particular focus on retail, commercial leisure and town centres.

Karen joins Firstplan as an associate and is a chartered town planner with over 15 years of experience working in the private sector. Karen has worked on a wide range of large and small scale projects throughout the UK including residential, trade, industrial, commercial and mixed use developments through to listed building projects.

Working in the private sector Gemma has experience of a wide range of projects, including office headquarters, residential towers, heritage schemes, major town centre mixed use schemes, and large business park redevelopments primarily throughout London and the south-east. She has successfully negotiated numerous large schemes from inception through to the receipt of planning permission and through to construction. Having worked in both the policy and development control sides of the public sector in the past, Gemma brings a sound knowledge of the systems and processes of Local Authorities to benefit her work at Firstplan.

Stephanie joined Firstplan in 2019 and is a chartered town planner with over seven years’ experience in the private sector. She has advised on a variety of planning and development projects throughout the UK including masterplans and capital projects for numerous universities, two new towns in the northeast of Scotland and a range of sport and industrial schemes.

Raveen began her consultancy career in 2017, having previously worked in the public sector. She joined Firstplan in 2023. Raveen is a Chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and has experience in a broad range of large and small-scale projects within the commercial, industrial and logistics, education, life science, and residential sectors. Raveen has advised clients on the complexities of the planning process and has worked in every stage of the planning and development process from project inception to implementation.

Emma is an RTPI chartered planner with wide ranging experience of working on both small scale and large scale developments within London and the south east. She has a background in preparing planning appraisals alongside managing projects through the planning process, advising and assisting with public engagement, co-ordinating project teams, preparing reports for planning applications and appeals including drafting proof of evidence and negotiations with local planning authorities on a broad range of schemes.

She has a wide breath of experience across residential, commercial, retail, education, office and hotel land uses including those with heritage implications across central and Greater London respectively. Emma always seeks opportunities to optimise development potential of application sites.

George graduated from the University of the West of England with a degree in Architecture and Planning. He joined Firstplan in 2017 following a successful internship in his final year of University, and has since worked on a range of retail, leisure, residential and mixed-use development opportunities, whilst also gaining chartered membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

Tim joined the Firstplan team in 2017 following roles in both the public and private sectors. Coming from a planning policy background at South Bucks District Council, he gained membership to the RTPI in 2017 whilst at Firstplan. He has experience in working on a range of projects throughout the UK within both the commercial and residential sectors for a variety of corporate and individual clients.

Ashkan joined Firstplan in 2022 after working in both the public and private sectors. A chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute, he has experience working on a range of projects, including both small and large scale industrial, commercial, residential, mixed-use, life-science and educational development projects. He guides clients through the complexities of the planning system by offering a comprehensive range of planning services including undertaking initial site appraisals and providing strategy advice, submitting representations to emerging Local Plans, co-ordinating public engagement exercises, and negotiating through the pre-application and planning application processes.

James is a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and holds a Master’s Degree in Town Planning from Newcastle University.

He has worked on a wide range of projects in his time at Firstplan. This includes a strong focus on commercial projects within the retail, leisure, employment, industrial and minerals sectors, together with experience in residential and heritage development.

He has developed a breadth of experience in navigating the complex planning application process and the management of consultant teams on behalf of clients.

Amy joined Firstplan in 2021, having graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a Masters degree in Spatial Planning. She has since gained Chartered Membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) whilst working on a variety of large and small-scale projects across London and the UK, in sectors including education & community, heritage, restaurant & drive-thrus, leisure and events.

Having graduated from the University of Liverpool where he studied Town & Regional Planning MPlan and the University of Manchester where he studied MSc Real Estate Asset Management, Tom is an RTPI chartered planner with wide ranging experience of working on both small scale and large scale developments within London and the south east.

Tom joins the practice to aid the team on a wide ranging case load, drawing on his experience in which he has developed to navigate through complex planning applications and the management of the consultant team on behalf of the client.

Before joining Firstplan, Jeannie spent 3 years in the public sector with the Development Management team at Crawley Borough Council. While there, she completed a Master’s degree in Chartered Town Planning at London South Bank University, receiving a Distinction.

Jeannie has also since become a Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

Josh joined Firstplan in 2021, having graduated from University College London with a Master’s degree in Spatial Planning. Since then, he has achieved Chartered Membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute. He works predominantly in the commercial / leisure sector, focusing on large scale developments.

Josh has contributed to a range of evidence-based studies for major retail/logistics developments across the UK and has worked on a number of retail impact assessments for national retailers who seek to expand their presence in out-of-town locations, in addition to carrying out retail studies on the behalf of the local planning authorities.

Abid recently graduated from the University of Sheffield with an MPlan degree in Urban Studies and Planning. He is currently working towards completing his APC and aims to become a chartered member of the RTPI.

Myranda recently completed her Master’s Degree in Urban Design and City Planning at University College London. Prior to this, she worked as a Planner in the United States. She is currently working towards completing her APC to achieve RTPI membership.

Darcey has recently completed her Master’s degree in Urban Design and City Planning at University College London. Prior to this she studied Architecture and Urban Planning at Newcastle University whereby she was awarded the Michael William’s prize for a commitment to planning.  She is now working towards completing her APC in order to achieve RTPI membership.

Orla has recently joined the team at Firstplan, having completed her Master’s degree in Urban Planning with Green Infrastructure and Landscape Planning at Newcastle University. She has experience in the private sector and is working towards completing her APC to achieve RTPI membership.

Charlie recently graduated from the University of Sheffield with an MPlan degree in Urban Studies and Planning. She possesses planning research experience in academia and the public sector in Hong Kong. She is currently working towards her APC and aims to become a chartered member of the RTPI.

Charlie is currently studying his undergraduate degree in Urban and Environmental Planning at London Southbank University. Having joined Firstplan for work experience in February 2024, he is now working as a planning assistant for the team.