Lowick at UKREiiF 2025

The Lowick team, Kevin McKeever and Joanna Christophides enjoyed a great visit and many a fruitful conversation at UKREiiF.

Our Director Joanna Christophides participated in a roundtable organised and facilitated by Newmark Finding Solutions to Town Planning Challenges. As well Lowick and colleagues from Newmark, senior officers from LB Southwark, LB Tower Hamlets, the OPDC, Barratt London, London Square, Hill Group, Town Legal, Ed Watson & Associates and Weston Williamson + Partners were there to represent the views of those involved in the planning process.

What are the challenges facing in the delivery of projects? Where do the building safety regulations and other technical requirements play a role? What are the viability challenges and how can they be overcome? How can we deliver the affordable homes we need? What do LPAs need to overcome these problems and deliver the homes and infrastructure we need?

Councillors and the community play a huge role in shaping plans, with Joanna arguing that ensuring stakeholders have an understanding of how planning works and the challenges is essential to placemaking and ultimately to delivering the right outcomes at the planning committee. Now is the time to have a national conversation and work to make sure communities shape their boroughs at the start of the process with the Local Plan rather than at the end when they feel they have less ownership.

There is and should always be a role for communities and councillors as part of the planning process, but let’s get it right and begin those conversations early, going to communities and inviting them to participate.

At Lowick, we know that community and political engagement can mean win or lose for your plans. We have a breadth of experience across the capital, so get in touch with us at [email protected]