Blacks Solicitors bolsters its Planning offering with latest hire
Blacks Solicitors has boosted its Planning offering with the appointment of a new Partner, Emma Thomas, who brings more than 20 years’ experience in planning law to the Leeds-based legal firm.
Over the last financial year, the team has witnessed significant growth and has dealt with more than 70 clients, 30 of which were new to the firm. Emma will lead the Planning team to support investors and developers, including acting on behalf of landowners and public authorities across a range of sectors, from holiday and home parks and energy to house building and retail.
Emma’s previous experience includes advising well respected commercial and residential developers including Keyland Developments Limited and Strata Homes Limited, and retailers such as Lidl on their planning needs. Commenting on her appointment, Emma said: “Blacks is a firm which is thriving in the Real Estate market and I am delighted to have joined such a knowledgeable and experienced team, with strong connections throughout the Property sector.”
“The start of 2025 sees considerable changes to planning law and policy; with the revised NPPF, the anticipated March publication of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, and the newly published Government’s working paper on changes to how Planning Committees will function. This, along with the ongoing saga of BNG provision, creates a myriad of opportunities and challenges for developers and local authorities alike and the Planning team at Blacks is looking forward to supporting clients throughout.”
Partner and Head of the Real Estate team at Blacks, Nick Dyson, is delighted to welcome Emma to the firm to support its long-term vision for growth. Nick commented: “We are thrilled to strengthen our planning team with Emma’s appointment. She is a fantastic addition to the firm and will help transform our offering and aid clients in unlocking development opportunities.”
The team’s expertise allows them to cover an extensive range of work including planning applications, highways agreements, planning appeals, telecommunications objections, heritage assets, public rights of way, town and village greens, Community Infrastructure Levy issues and planning enforcement. Most notably, the team has dealt with a number of cases advising on solar and battery energy storage across the country and provides ongoing strategic legal advice in connection with large scale mixed-use and employment developments across Yorkshire.
Blacks Solicitors is a 32 partner firm providing a wide range of legal services to commercial and private clients in Yorkshire and across the UK. With over 200 employees, the firm continues to go from strength to strength.
