Planning and development consultancy, Lichfields, has announced a raft of new promotions across the UK.

The company has promoted 15 employees including Jade Scott-Meikle, based in the company’s Edinburgh office; Chris Smith, in Newcastle; and Rachel Clements in the London office, to the role of planning directors.

In other roles, Zoe Simmonds (Leeds), Georgia Crowley and Maddie Lane (London), and Dominic Crowley (Newcastle) are now associate directors.

And Sophie Bisby, Lily Galek, Alice Green, and Rosie Williams (London), Henry McKenzie (Manchester), and Adrian Armstrong (Newcastle) have been promoted to senior planners.

Emma Taylor (London) and Isaac Vango (Newcastle) are now senior economics consultants.

The promotions, across various roles and geographies, reflect Lichfields’ commitment to recognising and nurturing talent within the organisation, ensuring the continued delivery of exceptional planning services across the UK.

Since joining Lichfields in 2015, Scott-Meikle has been instrumental to establishing the company’s presence in Scotland.

Her extensive experience includes the delivery of large mixed-use and regeneration projects, tourism and leisure schemes, and town centre developments.

Smith’s career at Lichfields spans over a decade, during which he has played a crucial role in the housing sector.

He has worked on the promotion of strategic sites and has assisted clients with planning applications and appeals across the North East, contributing to the delivery of housing projects in Sunderland, Durham, and Darlington.

And Clements has been at Lichfields for nearly 12 years and specialises in housing need, including demographics and housing land supply issues.

She advises public and private sector clients on development strategy and policy matters, including evidence base studies, housing appeals concerning housing need, and strategic land promotion.

Lichfields’ chief executive, Jim Fennell, said: “We’re very pleased to announce these promotions right across the business.

“We expect the property market will pick up strongly as the policies of the new government begin to take effect and our promoted staff will play a big part in helping us to service an increase in demand for our services.”