The firm broke into the Top 20 for the number of chartered planners in 2016 but this year jumped up to 15th, the biggest rise within the Top 20.
Numbers are up from 32 last autumn to 38 this September.
The news comes soon after Bidwells made four promotions in its senior team to support its growing client base within the Cambridge to Oxford Growth Corridor; and office locations including Cambridge, Milton Keynes, London, Norwich, Scotland and Oxford.
This year Bidwells was also the 13th highest fee earners in the survey, up from 14th last year.
Planning Partner, David Bainbridge, puts this sustained growth down to Bidwells’ commitment to investing in its people and strategic recruitment at Partner level. He said:
“We’re committed to supporting staff throughout their career. Our fully developed graduate scheme and mentoring programme supports all our planners through their assessment of professional competence, helping them to achieve chartered status, and this continues to drive up the proportion of chartered planners in the firm.
“Sustained investment in our working environment, including a company-wide move to agile working practices, also helps tremendously in a competitive market for talented young planners.
“Our relationship with the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is also strong, providing support to regional events including choosing to become the main sponsor of this year’s Young Planners Conference.
“But of course, none of this would be possible without the support of our superb clients across the sectors and locations we operate. This all bodes very well for the future of Bidwells’ planning practice.”
Planning Magazine’s highly respected Planning Consultancy Survey typically receives responses from 160 consultancies, covering members of the Royal Town Planning Institute and other planning fee earners.
Bidwells’ Cambridge office has grown from 11 to 18 planners in the past year, maintaining its position as the biggest team of chartered planners in the East of England.
Guy Kaddish was recently made Head of Cambridge Planning; Sam Metson is now Head of Specialist Services; and Chris Surfleet has been appointed Head of Heritage and Urban Design Studio. All three are based in Cambridge’s fully-agile Bidwell House headquarters. Paul Willmott is now Divisional Managing Partner and Head of London Planning.
