Celebrating Planning Excellence
The North West Awards for Planning Excellence continue to recognise and highlight the positive contribution planning professionals make in the communities we serve around the world.
Congratulations to the North West Awards for Planning Excellence winners 2025 who were announced at our Annual Dinner in Manchester on 19 June.
- Best Plan – The Trafford Design Code, submitted by Trafford Council
- Best Project - Theatre Porto, Ellesmere Port, submitted by Cheshire West & Chester Council, Theatre Porto, Equans, Bennetts Architects, Lambert Smith Hampton
- Planning Authority of the Year - Trafford Council and Development Service
- Small Planning Consultancy of the Year - Made it Together
- Mid-Size Planning Consultancy of the Year - Cassidy + Ashton
- Young Planner of the Year - Hannah Mitchell, Stockport Council
- John Knight Award - Bob May, Ryan & May
A stepping stone to our national celebration
These winners become national finalists except for Young Planner of the Year who will be judged by the national judges in September. The top five will become Young Planner of the Year national finalists.
All the shortlisted entries from the project categories* will be judged for the national finalist list. The remaining four direct to national categories** are also judged to complete the national finalist list of a total of 15 categories.
The national finalists will be announced on 9 October. The winners will be announced and celebrated on 27 November 2025 in London at the national ceremony. Details will be announced here.
*Project categories:
- Excellence in Planning for a Successful Economy
- Excellence in Planning for Health and Wellbeing
- Excellence in Planning for Heritage and Culture
- Excellence in Planning for the Natural Environment
- Excellence in Planning for Communities (small schemes under 50 homes)
- Excellence in Planning for Communities (large schemes of 50 homes or more)
**Direct to national categories:
- Excellence in Digital Planning Practice
- International Award for Planning Excellence
- In-house Planning Team of the Year
- Planning Consultancy of the Year
Thank you to the judges
Thank you to our judges for generously volunteering their time, dedication, and expertise to the judging process, including participating in interviews and site visits. Your commitment and support are truly appreciated.
For more information
If you have any questions, please visit the awards hub or contact Bev Watson, RTPI North West Regional Manager.
Thank you to our sponsor
Kindly sponsored by
Lambert Smith Hampton
Lambert Smith Hampton
Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) is one of the UK and Ireland's leading, and most progressive, multi-disciplinary property consultancies with 29 offices and over 1,000 staff. Our Planning, Regeneration + Infrastructure (PR+I) team covers the entire development and regeneration lifecycle, helping to identify, appraise, unlock, and maximise the development potential and investment, environmental and social value of complex urban and rural sites and buildings.
Acting out of our Manchester office, the team are very active across the entire Northwest region and beyond. Recent projects include significant regeneration masterplans in Preston, Barrow and Skelmersdale which will deliver significant comprehensive residential led regeneration, planning support on the Hybrid Bill for the HS2 route from Crewe to Manchester, as well as various education, town centre and cultural led projects across the region.
