2025: A year of strategic impact for Prior + Partners

From shaping long-term growth strategies and new communities to unlocking complex urban regeneration and advancing digital innovation, the year has reinforced our role as trusted advisers on place, planning and delivery.

Across the UK, our growing and integrated design, planning and economics team have been appointed to a series of major commissions by public and private sector clients to address the challenges of growth, infrastructure, and long-term change. These include: supporting the Cambridge Growth Company in the preparation of an evidence base and vision for the future of Greater Cambridge; maximising inward investment and economic growth in the offshore energy sector for Great Yarmouth Borough Council at South Denes; and providing integrated support on aspects of the wider East West Rail project to support resilient, connected communities.

We have also continued our long-standing track record in delivering transformative new town developments, with Prior + Partners commissioned to support Enfield Council at Crews Hill in London, one of Labour’s first twelve recommended New Town locations. This month, on behalf of The Crown Estate, we also submitted an Outline Planning Application for East Hemel in Hemel Hempstead. This masterplan for a sustainable urban extension of approximately 4,000 homes is supported by employment space, social infrastructure, and a new country park,  and has been shaped by over a year of collaboration and engagement with local communities.

Urban regeneration and place-making continued to be a core focus of our UK portfolio in 2025. We embarked on a journey with the University of Leeds on Campus Reimagined, setting out a bold vision for the future of a world-class academic environment. For Hertfordshire County Council, we developed a Healthy Place-Making Framework to embed health outcomes into planning and delivery.

Several major regeneration projects reached key delivery milestones during the year. Bristol Temple Quarter  commenced their search for a development partner, whilst Silvertown secured approval for its Hybrid Planning Application, representing a major step forward in the regeneration of London’s Royal Docks. Birmingham Sports Quarter progressed with the unveiling of the new stadium design, while at Oxpens both outline and detailed planning permission were secured.

We also launched the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Economic and Social Impact Report, evidencing the wider benefits of regeneration beyond the physical transformation of place. At Smithfield Birmingham, our work supported significant progress on a nationally important regeneration project, which was recognised internationally when Smithfield was named Winner of the Future Places: Masterplanning category at the World Architecture Festival.

Alongside these projects, we were pleased to continue our work for long-standing clients including Homes England, Southampton City Council and Royal Veterinary College.

Prior + Partners’ strategic work was complemented by a number of important milestones during the year. Our Strategic Planning Group launched the report Planning Positively for the Future, which set out our thinking on how the planning system can better support delivery and long-term outcomes. The consultation draft NPPF released in Decemebr now anticipates the move towards national coverage of spatial development strategies that are becoming a legal requirement in England through the new Planning and Infrastructure Bill. We stand ready to support Strategic Planning Authorities in this endeavour.

We also supported the launch of the UK Innovation Corridor’s first Investment Prospectus, helping to position the corridor as a compelling destination for investment. In the creative industries sector, the approval of the Marlow Studios planning application marked a significant step forward for a nationally important project.

International expansion

Internationally, 2025 was a year of strategic expansion and strengthened regional capability for Prior + Partners. A major milestone was the opening of our Dubai office in Business Bay, deepening our presence across the Middle East and North Africa and reinforcing our long-term commitment to the region. This step forward was accompanied by the expansion of the Dubai team, bringing in senior planning and masterplanning talent alongside enhanced business development capacity, all working closely with our London studio to support delivery of projects across waterfront and desert inland sites for clients including Aldar, MODON and EMAAR.

Our work in the MENA region was recognised earlier this month, with Prior + Partners named Urban Planning Company of the Year at the Middle East Consultant Awards – this is testament to the practice’s integrated, multidisciplinary approach and the quality of our strategic planning and design expertise across markets. Our proposals for the Department of Municipalities and Transport to transform Musaffah, Abu Dhabi’s 4,000 hectare industrial district, were also Highly Commended in the Climate-Resilient & Regenerative Landscapes category at the Landscape Middle East Awards.

Digital innovation

Digital innovation was a key focus in 2025, marked by the launch of our Digital Innovation offer and refreshed website. Our work was referenced in MHCLG’s new Local Plan guidance as an example of good practice in baselining and data, highlighting the South West Hertfordshire Digital Place Portrait. Bringing together over 95 datasets in an intuitive, user-focused platform, the Digital Place Portrait provides a single source of truth that supports engagement and enables more informed, evidence-led decision-making for the South West Herts Joint Strategic Plan. Since its launch, we have continued to expand our innovation in this market by developing bespoke dashboards and models for public and private sector clients, including Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council and a live commission with Basildon Borough Council.

As we look ahead to 2026, we do so with strong momentum. Building on trusted client relationships and expanding our strategic and digital capabilities, 2025 has reinforced our commitment to shaping places that are resilient, inclusive and economically successful.