Member Article

Specialist planning service expands at Blacks Solicitors

Leeds-based Blacks Solicitors has welcomed a new starter to its Planning team, taking the headcount to three.

Katy McPhie has joined the team as a Senior Associate and brings with her significant planning, highways, and administrative legal experience in both public and private sectors.

Katy’s appointment follows on from James Cook who joined Blacks Solicitors in 2019 as a Partner to establish the Planning team, and the recent offer of a training contract to Ellie Stansfield in the law firm’s September 2020 intake.

Katy commented: “I’m very happy to be joining James and the team at Blacks. There’s no doubt that the planning system faces a variety of challenges at the moment. There are certainly going to be some interesting times ahead and the opportunity to work with James to enhance the services offered by Blacks during this time is an exciting prospect”.

Since its foundation, the Planning team has successfully advised a significant number of new clients on schemes across a range of sectors including housing, holiday and home parks, healthcare, employment, retail, minerals and waste.

James Cook, a Partner at the law firm and Head of Planning, added: “We are delighted to welcome Katy to the Planning team at Blacks. Katy brings a wealth of planning experience with her and her arrival underlines the progress we have made in establishing our specialist service over the past 12 months.

“This is a pivotal time when the planning system is once again under scrutiny and review, and the pandemic is adding to the range of issues our clients are facing. I am looking forward to working with Katy to develop our service further as we continue to provide invaluable planning-related legal support to our clients”.

The Planning team sits within the Commercial Property team at Blacks Solicitors which has recently been shortlisted for Property Law Firm of the Year at this year’s Yorkshire Insider Property Industry Awards.

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