Lichfields

A UK planning and development consultancy, founded in 1962 by the pioneering town planner Nathaniel Lichfield, with offices across England and Wales.

About Lichfields

Lichfields, formally Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners, is a planning and development consultancy. Its website says it offers 18 services across 17 sectors, including planning, economics, heritage, masterplanning and urban design, land promotion, environmental assessment, and GIS and spatial analytics (mapping and analysing places using data). Its clients include house builders, commercial developers, local authorities, landowners and investors. If you have ever wondered who works out how many homes a town needs, or how a new neighbourhood gets approved, this is the kind of firm that does the thinking.

The firm was founded in 1962 by Nathaniel Lichfield, whom it describes as a pioneering economist and town planner. A history written by Geoff Smith, who joined in 1969 as a 23-year-old working from a two-room office in Portland Place, London, says early work included advice on Brent Cross, described as the UK's first out-of-town shopping centre, and a masterplan for Milton Keynes Development Corporation. Its own story page speaks of work on new towns, airports, and well-known stadiums, including Wembley, with other featured projects such as Stansted Airport and Bristol Harbourside. Its stated aim is to offer "insight, innovative thinking and expert advice to create great places for future generations".

Its registered office is in the Minster Building, 21 Mincing Lane, London. Geoff Smith's 2018 article says the firm regionalised over time, with the Newcastle office opening around 25 years earlier partly because of proposals for Newcastle Great Park, then Cardiff, and eight UK offices by 2018. Search results for the firm also mention Bristol and Thames Valley offices and a Manchester project. We could not read a current list of locations, so check the website for where teams sit today.

On people, the 2018 history says the firm grew from about six staff in Portland Place to more than 215. It describes Geoff Smith rising from assistant to partner, director, managing director and chairman, and credits the culture with developing people over long careers, valuing commercial awareness and strategic leadership. That is a story the firm tells about itself, and the figures are dated 2018. Its site links to Careers, Graduates and ESG pages, though we did not read their content.

The jobs in a firm like Lichfields include planners, economists, heritage consultants, urban designers and masterplanners, data and mapping analysts, and the administrators and communications staff who support them. A graduate heritage consultant role in London has been advertised on its recruitment site. Subjects such as geography, economics, history, planning and architecture are common routes, though the mix of roles suggests many interests can fit.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Advice on planning applications and getting land ready for development.', 'title': 'Planning and land promotion'}
• {'desc': 'Studies of housing need, jobs and places using data and mapping (GIS).', 'title': 'Economics and spatial analytics'}
• {'desc': 'Work on historic places and on the layout of new neighbourhoods.', 'title': 'Heritage, masterplanning and urban design'}

Key facts

• Founded in 1962 by Nathaniel Lichfield; registered office in London
• Offers 18 services across 17 sectors (company website)
• Grew from about six staff to more than 215 by 2018, with eight UK offices at that date (company history, 2018)
• Featured projects include Stansted Airport and Bristol Harbourside

Website: lichfields.uk