DHA

What DHA does

DHA Planning Ltd is a privately held, UK-based independent planning and highways consultancy founded in 1985 and headquartered in Maidstone, Kent. It provides multi-disciplinary professional services spanning planning applications and appeals, transport and infrastructure, environmental impact assessment, flood risk and drainage, masterplanning and urban design, land and site promotion, development viability, and GIS and referencing. Its client base is segmented horizontally across property developers, local planning authorities, landowners, educational and healthcare institutions, and infrastructure and energy operators, with named engagements spanning Marks & Spencer, Millwall FC, Harris Federation Trust, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, and multiple borough councils.

The firm delivers services through four regional offices — Maidstone (HQ), Crawley (Gatwick), London Bridge (opened May 2023) and Leeds — giving it coverage of the South East, Greater London and Northern England markets. DHA generates revenue through project-based professional services engagements priced individually and governed by its Standard Terms and Conditions of Engagement (no public pricing). Go-to-market is enterprise field sales supported by a content-led brand strategy: regular Blueprint newsletters, NPPF and Environment Act thought-leadership articles, an interactive project map, and an active RTPI awards programme (Planning Team of the Year 2021, Specialist Consultancy of the Year 2023, shortlisted 2025).

The firm is founder/management-owned with no external investors, no parent company, no subsidiaries and no disclosed funding history. It is positioned as the South East's largest independent planning and highways consultancy, cites over 400 years of combined planning knowledge across its team, and is celebrating 40 years of continuous operation in 2025. There is no evidence of proprietary technology, software products or AI/ML capabilities — the offering is traditional chartered-planner-led consultancy with conventional GIS tooling.

Name

DHA

Legal name

DHA Planning Ltd

Website

https://dhaplanning.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DHA Planning Ltd is an independent UK planning and highways consultancy (founded 1985) serving developers, local authorities, landowners and institutions with planning, transport, EIA, masterplanning and viability services from four regional offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Planning & Highways Consultancy

NAICS

Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370), Landscape Architectural Services (541320), Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (9251)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate Public-Private Partnership (PPP) & Infrastructure-Adjacent Real Estate Advisory (BPAJANAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Permitting, Siting & Environmental Impact (EIA/NEPA) Advisory (EUAMANAB)

Keywords

• Planning consultancy
• Town planning services
• Transport infrastructure advisory
• Environmental impact assessment
• Development viability analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Maidstone

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Planning Consultancy Services: Core professional services revenue from providing planning consultancy including planning applications, appeals, pre-application advice, and planning strategy. Services span across residential, commercial, industrial, and public sector developments.
2. Transport & Infrastructure Advisory: Transport planning, highways design, and infrastructure advisory services for development projects.
3. Environmental Impact Assessment: EIA services including environmental statements and ecological assessments for planning applications.
4. Land & Site Promotion: Land promotion services to help landowners get land allocated for development in local plans, including promotion agreements and site selling.
5. Masterplanning & Design: Masterplanning and urban design services for new communities and large-scale developments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

DHA is a multi-disciplinary planning and highways consultancy delivering professional services across the UK. Its core work covers planning applications and appeals, transport and infrastructure advisory, environmental impact assessment, flood risk and drainage, masterplanning and design, land and site promotion, development viability, and GIS and referencing. The firm operates from four offices (Kent HQ, Gatwick, London, Leeds) and is positioned as the South East's largest independent planning and highways consultancy.

Product overview

DHA is a planning and highways consultancy providing professional services rather than a software product. The company offers a comprehensive range of planning consultancy services including Planning, Transport & Infrastructure, Environmental Impact Assessment, Flood Risk & Drainage, Masterplanning & Design, Land & Site Promotion, Development Viability, GIS & Referencing, Pavement and Highways Licences, and Public Rights of Way. These are traditional professional consultancy services delivered by qualified planners and consultants, not software products or modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Planning
• Transport & Infrastructure
• Environmental Impact Assessment
• Flood Risk & Drainage
• Masterplanning & Design Strategic masterplanning and urban design services for large-scale new communities and development schemes.
• Land & Site Promotion Land promotion services bringing development sites through the planning process, including promotion agreements and site sales (e.g., Boughton Monchelsea and Charing sites).
• Development Viability Financial viability assessments for development proposals, supporting planning submissions and negotiations.
• GIS & Referencing Geographic Information System analysis and spatial site referencing services for development planning.
• Pavement and Highways Licences Advisory services on pavement and highways licensing for development sites and access.
• Public Rights of Way Advisory services on public rights of way considerations for development sites.

Quantifiable outcome

• Secured planning permission for over 1,200 new homes and over 300,000 sq ft of employment space
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle): Global real estate services firm with a UK planning and development advisory practice, often bundled with capital markets and asset management — a large incumbent alternative to DHA for institutional clients.
• Barton Willmore (now part of Stantec): Pre-acquisition one of the UK's largest independent planning consultancies; now part of Stantec's global design and engineering network, representing a large multi-disciplinary incumbent competing with DHA on major schemes.
• Lambert Smith Hampton: UK-wide property consultancy offering planning, development, agency, and valuation services — a comparable full-service competitor with broader capability than DHA but a similar client base.
• Savills: Global real estate services firm whose UK planning and development consultancy division competes with DHA for large developer and institutional clients, with the ability to bundle planning into broader agency, valuation, and investment mandates.

Direct peers

• Rapleys: UK independent property consultancy offering planning, development consultancy, building consultancy, and rating advice — directly comparable mid-size professional services peer to DHA.
• Montagu Evans: London-headquartered independent planning, development, and real estate advisory with overlapping services in planning, viability, and EIA, competing for the same developer and institutional mandates.
• Lichfields: UK-wide independent planning, masterplanning, and development consultancy with a similar multi-disciplinary offer to DHA and a comparable focus on planning applications, EIA, retail/residential, and local authority work.
• Gerald Eve: UK real estate advisory firm providing planning, development, and consultancy services alongside agency and valuation — a comparable planning-led advisor competing for developer and public-sector work.

Emerging players

• Quod: Independent UK planning, development, and economics consultancy focused on large-scale urban regeneration and infrastructure — a niche but growing competitor for DHA's strategic development and infrastructure work.
• Bidwells: UK property consultancy with a planning, development, and infrastructure advisory team — a comparable mid-size peer with strong East Anglia/Oxford-Cambridge presence, providing partial geographic overlap with DHA.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dha-planning
• Xx.com/dhagroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DHA