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One integrated team supporting residential development at every scale, from single sites to new settlements of up to 10,000 homes.
We work with developers, housebuilders, strategic land promoters, landowners, investors and public sector organisations. Our experience covers individual sites, Strategic Land, Urban Extensions, New Settlements and Major Residential Developments, along with mixed-use communities and regeneration. Few consultancies can support both a lean development team and a multi-phase strategic allocation with the same depth of expertise. That range is one of our greatest strengths.
Why Choose Brookbanks for Residential
95% of our team have previously worked for housebuilders. We understand the pressures residential developers face, including land deals, build costs, sales rates, planning obligations and programme, because we have managed them ourselves. Our advice is shaped by how development works in practice, not just by policy or technical requirements.
Every residential scheme has to balance planning strategy, technical constraints, infrastructure, viability and the expectations of local communities. The emphasis changes with scale. A smaller developer may need quick, clear advice on whether a site stacks up, while a promoter of a strategic allocation needs a coordinated evidence base and an infrastructure strategy that will hold together over many years and phases.
Working as One Brookbanks, our in-house model brings site appraisal and consenting, engineering and design, project delivery, cost and commercial expertise and development leadership together in one team. That means joined-up communication, consistent decision-making and clear accountability from early strategy through to implementation. We plan and design homes alongside the physical and social infrastructure that supports them, and clients can appoint us for a single service or for fully integrated support.
Key Client Benefits
- Planning and delivery programmes move faster, with planning, technical and delivery work running in parallel within one coordinated team rather than across separate consultants.
- Site value is maximised by understanding a site’s full potential and constraints early, before key land and investment decisions are made.
- Development risk is managed through early due diligence, integrated technical input and advice from people who have faced the same risks within housebuilders.
- Project viability improves as infrastructure, abnormal costs and planning obligations are understood and tested alongside the planning case.
- End-to-end development expertise provides continuity and clear accountability from site identification through consent, technical approvals and construction.
How We Support Residential Projects
Strategic Land and Major Residential Sites
Large-scale residential and mixed-use communities need a long-term view of planning, placemaking, infrastructure and value. Our specialists support strategic land promoters, housebuilders, landowners and public sector partners on urban extensions, new settlements, garden communities and major housing allocations.
We help position sites for allocation, prepare the evidence for major planning applications and shape infrastructure strategies that support phased delivery, drawing on our strategic planning and Development Partner experience.
Planning and Environmental Evidence
Our planning specialists identify opportunities, assess constraints and set out a clear route to consent, from land promotion and site allocation through to planning applications, Section 106 negotiation and the discharge of conditions.
Alongside them, our environmental experts provide the technical studies that residential applications rely on, covering matters such as flood risk, ground conditions, nutrients, acoustics, air quality and sustainability.
See how coordinated technical advice supported consent for a strategic urban extension at Newlands Farm, Fareham.
Engineering, Highways and Utilities
Our civil engineering specialists design the roads, drainage, earthworks and levels that underpin new homes, taking proposals from early layouts to detailed design and technical approval. Our structural engineering experts provide efficient foundation and building solutions suited to site conditions.
Our highways and transportation and utilities specialists assess access, movement and service capacity, helping to create well-connected developments and giving clients confidence in programme and cost.
Read about our civil and structural design for 66 affordable apartments at Bellfield Road, High Wycombe.
Cost, Viability and Delivery
Our development viability and cost planning specialists prepare development appraisals, viability assessments and infrastructure and abnormal cost plans that test the numbers behind a scheme and inform land and investment decisions.
Once a scheme is consented, our project delivery experts provide programme management, contract administration and coordination of consultants, contractors and planning conditions, keeping residential projects moving through construction.
See how we combined cost planning and engineering advice for around 2,300 homes at Hopfields, Newton.
Long-Term Development Leadership
Some residential sites benefit from a single point of responsibility over many years. Through our Development Partner service, we lead land, planning, technical, commercial and delivery activity on behalf of landowners and consortia.
This can include land development strategy, infrastructure implementation, commercial control and support with land disposal, bringing the full range of our residential expertise together under one coordinated team.
Discover our development partner role at Eastern Green Urban Extension in Coventry.
Our Experience
Residential development is one of our strongest sectors. For more than 25 years, we have supported schemes ranging from small bespoke developments and brownfield redevelopment to some of the largest housing projects in the country, including new settlements of up to 10,000 homes.
For smaller schemes, we support individual sites, infill plots, village extensions and urban regeneration opportunities. This is often a focused service, such as a flood risk assessment or development appraisal, alongside fuller, coordinated support. Projects such as Bellfield Road, High Wycombe show how targeted technical input helps smaller schemes progress efficiently.
At the larger end of the scale, our specialists work on Strategic Land promotions, Urban Extensions, New Settlements, garden communities and Major Residential Developments that bring homes together with schools, employment space, local centres and green infrastructure. From securing consent at Newlands Farm, Fareham to cost and engineering advice for around 2,300 homes at Hopfields, Newton and long-term development leadership at Eastern Green, our work is helping to create new communities across the UK for clients including regional and national housebuilders, strategic land promoters, landowners, investors and public sector partners.
Talk to Our Residential Specialists
Our residential team brings together extensive experience of residential development, with 95% having previously worked for housebuilders. Our specialists have appraised sites, negotiated land deals, secured consents and managed delivery from within housebuilders and development organisations. That experience gives clients advisers who understand residential development from the inside and act as a true partner in development.
Whether your scheme is a single site or a major new community, contact a member of the team directly, or email hello@brookbanks.com and one of our experts will get back to you.
Group Director, Development Management, and Head of Yorkshire and North East Office
Tori Hall
tori.hall@brookbanks.com
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Group Director for Land, Development and Communities
Lee Witts
lee.witts@brookbanks.com
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Group Technical Director, Land, Development and Communities
Dean Swann
dean.swann@brookbanks.com
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Related work and insights
FAQs
How do you support smaller residential schemes?
Many of our specialists have worked for housebuilders and developers, so we understand the need for lean, practical and cost-effective advice. We help clients assess whether a site stacks up, set a clear planning strategy and provide the technical, engineering and cost input needed to secure consent and start on site. Support can be a single report or a fully coordinated team.
Can you help promote strategic land for residential development?
Yes. Our strategic planning specialists promote sites through the Local Plan process, preparing representations and the technical evidence needed to demonstrate that a site is suitable, available and deliverable. We then support the major planning applications and infrastructure strategies that follow, from urban extensions to new settlements of up to 10,000 homes.
How do you assess residential viability?
Our viability and cost specialists prepare development appraisals that test land value, build costs, abnormal and infrastructure costs, planning obligations and sales values. This helps clients make informed land and investment decisions and provides robust evidence for discussions with local planning authorities on affordable housing and Section 106 contributions.
What infrastructure will my residential scheme need?
That depends on the site’s scale, location and existing capacity. Typical requirements include highways access, drainage, utilities and earthworks, and on larger sites also schools, open space and local centres. Our engineers, highways and utilities specialists assess requirements early and take infrastructure through detailed design and technical approval, keeping the planning case and delivery strategy aligned.
Can you manage a residential project from acquisition through to completion?
Yes. We provide planning and technical due diligence before acquisition, followed by planning strategy, design, technical approvals, cost management and delivery. For larger or long-term schemes, our development management and Development Partner services provide a single point of leadership throughout. Clients can also appoint us for an individual service at any stage.