‘The service a client gets is that of efficiency and flexibility as well as being nimble when the situation requires. Overall excellence.’

‘Emily Williams is a stand out performer in this firm in respect of her planning and environmental field. She is particularly notable for her judicial review experience and her ability to assist clients as well as being an excellent facilitator to barristers and their work. She is both highly proficient and immensely hardworking. She has a no-nonsense attitude and is brilliant when under pressure. An absolute star.’

‘Emily Williams is a lynchpin of the Planning and Environment Practice of Addleshaw Goddard. She is my go-to when planning becomes litigious.’

‘They have exceptional strength in depth, always working towards the client’s requirements with interaction across their skill sets to ensure they always provide good and appropriate advice. They have always worked with a commercial attitude to get deals done whilst ensuring our needs and requirements are meet, with clear advice on legal matters and commercial decisions.’

‘Emily Williams is outstanding. She has in-depth knowledge and experience of planning related litigation. She is a superb solicitor, organising large and complex teams for planning inquiries. Easy with clients and fun to work with!’

‘Michelle Headrige and her team have provided excellent support on all environmental matters.’

‘Emily Williams is first class. She combines in depth knowledge of court procedure and process with considered tactical advice.’

‘Michelle Headrige has built up a fantastic team around her matching her skills in communication, knowledge and ability to translate complex messages into straightforward actions for a client.’

‘The team is brilliant in terms of their attention to detail, their ability to progress with cases in an efficient manner and effectively drive cases. The teams strength is the Partner’s who lead the team, who are always contactable, friendly, helpful and honest. The individuals who deal with our cases have been fantastic, which has yielded positive results. The team has been very good at putting complex cases together, working collaboratively across multi-disciplinary teams, and ensuring that all bases have been covered.’

‘Michelle Moss has been brilliant. She has always made herself available, and has ensured that evidence and cases have been presented in the most appropriate form. Michelle’s knowledge of the CPO world has been second to none, and her experience and diligence has been valued on all of the cases she has worked on. Fiona Barker-Hall has also been exceptional. She is by far the most organised solicitor that I have worked with, and has progressed a very complex case very efficiently.’

‘Richard Lloyd has been outstanding in giving CPO advice. He understands the nuances of how the government work and is pragmatic and measured.’

‘Richard Lloyd leads a superbly competent team of good old fashioned lawyers with a particular expertise in CPO and large scale infrastructure.’

‘Richard Lloyd is easily the best planning and CPO solicitor in the North of England (and beyond!).’

‘Michelle Moss is an industry expert and Fiona Barker-Hall is not far behind Michelle. Both seen as trusted advisers.’

‘Very strong compulsory acquisition and property teams, really dedicated to the best outcome for their clients and to progressing legal matters to resolution. Great understanding of our requirements as a client.’

‘Michelle Moss is a thorough, careful and sensible compulsory acquisition expert. Excellent in getting points across to examining authorities and counter-parties. She works with a well trained and very competent team, has represented us in several Development Consent Orders and CPOs and continues to be our first choice for that.’

‘All members are very approachable and knowledgeable.’

‘Outstanding firm of planning solicitors. Know that you can trust them to get on and deliver, whether it is instructing counsel, co-ordinating an appeal team or preparing a legal agreement.’

‘Samantha Grange has detailed knowledge and experience of the CPO process.’

‘The team is particularly strong in compulsory purchase work.’

‘Kathryn Jump is outstanding. Delivers excellent advice, approachable, practical, commercially savvy. Lisa Tye is also outstanding.’

‘Great CPO experience, understand both the public and private sector.’

‘Kathryn Jump: gives clear, straightforward and sound advice to clients.’

‘Lisa Tye has sound judgement which is put to good effect in giving advice to clients.’

‘Alexandra Jones is fantastic to work with and my first port of call for any legal planning related queries. I really value her advice and detailed understanding of planning legislation and practical implications, alongside a thorough understanding of commercial realities.’

‘Simon Colvin provides clear and concise legal advice and recommendations with a clear commercial angle and is constantly praised by directors and senior leaders in the business about his approach and way that he handles complex legal matters. Simon is also clearly very passionate about this area of law and the journey to net zero and provides added insight and information in those areas.’

‘I think Weightmans are an excellent firm with a strong market presence in all planning and environment work particularly Development Consent Orders and Compulsory Purchase Orders.’

‘I want to commend Lee Gordon – what impressed me most was his ability to get to grips with the detail at the same time as taking a strategic overview of the client’s objectives and how to achieve them. He did what I can only describe as a brilliant job. What’s more, he was a pleasure to work with, and I know how highly the client valued his work.’

‘They can always be relied upon to give practical and sensible advice, that puts the client’s interests first.’

‘Grant Anderson is highly regarded and a very safe pair of hands on any complex planning disputes. He has a strong specialism in onshore gas work.’

‘Excellent knowledge of planning laws and regulations. Access to top barristers for appeals and hearings.’

‘Dedication to clients, timely response.’

‘The team is led by a first rate lawyer and operator.’

‘Claire Petricca-Riding – excellent technical abilities combined with a pragmatic outlook. Excellent people skills and good to deal with.’

‘Keith Davidson is responsive, down to earth and a fountain of knowledge.’

‘The team are very professional and very personable. They get the job done but are pragmatic whilst having specialists in the right areas to deal with large complex projects and transactions.’

‘I really value their personable approach, they’re contactable and you can have a sensible conversation and kick ideas and thoughts around such that they feel like an extension of the team and make contributions accordingly.’

‘On environmental due diligence and transactional support around contaminated land, the team is an excellent resource, especially using Keith Davidson’s vast and unparalleled knowledge of contaminated land. Very competent and capable team who can deliver on a wide range of matters.’

‘Keith Davidson is a shining star in terms of non-contentious environmental matters. Around contaminated land, there is not much that Keith has not seen and dealt with already, which makes him great at getting to the heart of the issue and offering a sensible and workable solution. He is the ‘go-to’ resource for warranties and indemnities and ensuring liabilities are appropriately dealt with in commercial transactions.’

‘We worked with Melanie Grimshaw in this team. She was outstanding in terms of her commitment to what transpired to be a huge project, which needed delivery in a very short amount of time. She dealt every detail and went above and beyond many times. Knowing that she would be available made all the difference as we had a lot of queries and were under pressure with timings. She showed her excellent subject knowledge and insightfulness in the many meetings we had.’

‘The planning team at M&R has always been one of the key reasons we work as extensively as we do with M&R. They are thoughtful, innovative, reliable and well resourced. They are also exceptionally lovely people to work with. We are delighted to have M&R in our corner.’

‘Melanie Grimshaw is charming and highly knowledgeable both in respect of the local Manchester market but also nationally.’

‘Sensible, straightforward advice delivered clearly.’

‘Debbie Reynolds provides excellent advice and is willing to discuss/listen and explain points. Very thorough.’

‘Debbie Reynolds leads an excellent public sector facing team, with an excellent regional reputation.’

‘The practice are as invested in the case as the individual instructing them; it’s a very personal service, given with passion, pride and extensive knowledge. The knowledge and expertise held is unparalleled in the environmental sector and there is not a better practice out there.’

‘Anna Willetts is a lawyer with determination and tenacity who is not afraid to stand up for what is right and just. She has a true passion, which goes beyond that required for the job; she genuinely cares for the clients and is passionate about seeing justice served. Added to the above is an unrivalled knowledge about environmental regulation and environmental regulators and this makes Anna a lawyer that the environmental regulators should fear – she will not leave a stone unturned.’

‘A very hands-on team willing to work at all levels of engagement. Particularly knowledgeable and current on assessing potential legal outcomes.’

‘Anna Willetts is hands-on and always available on the phone. Will have your back in a crisis and provides a ready sense of assuredness about likely outcomes.’

‘Great technical knowledge applied in a very practical and helpful way.’

‘This team only came to my attention recently following enquiries I made concerning what is now the Environment Act 2021. Very quickly I was asking myself why I had not been in touch with them sooner. They are now an invaluable source of information, recommendations and guidance. The team’s in-depth knowledge is phenomenal. They are friendly, approachable and nothing is too much trouble. They will explain complex areas, in Planning and Environmental law, in easy to understand ways and will ensure my understanding before they move on. The team is also adaptable and were happy to provide specific training to accommodate our requirements. Just such a great service and exactly what we want.’

‘The individuals that I have had the opportunity to work with are extremely hardworking and knowledgeable about their area of practice. They have the ability to explain things in a way that both fellow lawyers and company engineers and business representatives can understand.’