AshtonHale
AshtonHale is an independent UK town planning consultancy, founded in 2023 and based in Manchester, providing planning strategy, applications, appeals, and development delivery services to enterprise developers, housebuilders, architects, and public sector bodies nationwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersManchester, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What AshtonHale does
AshtonHale Ltd. is an independent UK town planning consultancy headquartered in Manchester at ABC Buildings, Quay Street, founded in 2023 by Richard Barton and Neil Lucas, both formerly Directors at Avison Young and HOW Planning, with Neil Lucas also previously at DP9. The firm operates nationally and provides five core services across the full development lifecycle: Planning Strategy, Planning Applications, Local Plan Promotion, Planning Appeals and Expert Witness, and Development Delivery. There is no proprietary technology platform; service delivery is built on the chartered town planning expertise of the senior team and their relationships with Local Planning Authorities across the UK. The firm has been recognised with the Planning Team of the Year award at the Insider North West Residential Property Awards 2026, only three years after founding.
AshtonHale generates revenue through bespoke professional service fees charged to enterprise clients on a project-by-project basis, with no publicly disclosed pricing and no technology subscription revenue. The go-to-market is direct enterprise relationship sales targeting major developers, housebuilders, architects, and public sector bodies, complemented by referrals and industry reputation. Named clients include Vistry Group, Bellway, McLaren Property, Moda Living, Bankfoot APAM, Capital&Centric, HUB, Royal London Asset Management, Kadans Science Partners, Soller Nine, Parthena Reys, Watch This Space, ROCK Co Capital, and local authorities such as Salford City Council. The firm also coordinates with leading architectural practices including Chapman Taylor, SimpsonHaugh, Hawkins Brown, Sheppard Robson, Howells, and AHMM across multi-disciplinary project teams.
The practice is privately held and founder-led with no disclosed external funding, parent company, or institutional investors. Within three years the firm has scaled to a named team of five professionals (two co-founders, an Associate Director, an Associate, a Senior Planner, and a Planner), won a regional industry award, and delivered planning permissions or submissions on landmark schemes including the £200m Soapworks mixed-use neighbourhood in Salford, the Upper Brook Street Masterplan in Manchester (1,700 student rooms, 750,000 sq ft life science), the Buxton Town Centre Regeneration (£100m), Wilmslow's first Build-to-Rent development (£100m, 286 apartments), the Yardhouse co-living scheme in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and the Land South of Hyde 400+ home Green Belt release. Recent vertical expansion includes entry into care home and retirement living (Bollington for Liberty Care Developments and McCarthy & Stone) and industrial / logistics planning (Flock Business Park Kendal).
AshtonHale firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AshtonHale
- Legal name
- AshtonHale Ltd.
- Website
- https://ashtonhale.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- AshtonHale is an independent UK town planning consultancy, founded in 2023 and based in Manchester, providing planning strategy, applications, appeals, and development delivery services to enterprise developers, housebuilders, architects, and public sector bodies nationwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
AshtonHale industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Town Planning Consultancy
- NAICS
- Architectural Services (54131)
- SIC
- Non-Operating Establishments (9995)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Architecture, Planning & Surveying (AIA, Planning, Land Surveyor CE) (EDAAALAG)
Keywords
Where AshtonHale is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Manchester
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
AshtonHale business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Planning Consultancy Services: AshtonHale generates revenue by providing specialist town planning consultancy services across the full development lifecycle. Services include planning strategy, planning applications, local plan promotion, planning appeals and expert witness, and development delivery. Revenue is derived from professional service fees charged to developers, housebuilders, and public sector clients for planning advice and representation.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
AshtonHale product offering
Product offeringCore offering
AshtonHale is an independent specialist town planning consultancy providing commercially-minded planning advice and representation to developers, housebuilders, architects, and the public sector across the UK. The firm manages the full development lifecycle through five core services: Planning Strategy, Planning Applications, Local Plan Promotion, Planning Appeals & Expert Witness, and Development Delivery.
Product overview
AshtonHale is an independent specialist planning consultancy offering a unified service portfolio of five core consulting services: Planning Strategy, Planning Applications, Local Plan Promotion, Planning Appeals & Expert Witness, and Development Delivery. These services span the full development lifecycle from early-stage strategy and site appraisal through to planning applications, appeals, and post-permission delivery, providing commercially-minded planning advice to developers, housebuilders, architects, and the public sector.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Planning Strategy
Quantifiable outcome
- Secured hybrid planning consent for £200m Soapworks mixed-use neighbourhood in Salford (500 homes, 70,000 sqft workspace)
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use AshtonHale
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
AshtonHale technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AshtonHale partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
AshtonHale competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Turley: One of the UK's largest dedicated planning consultancies, operating across planning, design, economics and heritage. Direct competitor for the same enterprise developer and housebuilder clients AshtonHale serves.
- Montagu Evans: UK-wide planning, development and heritage consultancy advising developers and housebuilders on major residential and mixed-use schemes. Competes for many of the same enterprise clients as AshtonHale in residential and regeneration.
- Boyer Planning: Mid-sized UK planning consultancy advising on planning applications, appeals, local plan promotion and development management. A close niche competitor with similar service lines and target clients.
- DP9: London-focused town planning consultancy specialising in complex mixed-use, residential and regeneration schemes. Neil Lucas previously held a Director-level position at DP9, evidencing direct pedigree overlap and an apples-to-apples competitor profile.
- Pegasus Group: UK planning, design and environmental consultancy. Competes for developer and housebuilder planning mandates across residential, commercial and regeneration with a comparable service portfolio to AshtonHale.
- Bidwells: UK-focused real estate consultancy with a substantial planning practice serving developers, investors and landowners. Comparable competitor for residential, mixed-use and land promotion work.
- Lichfields: Established UK town planning consultancy with national coverage across residential, commercial and regeneration - a direct competitor whose practice mirrors AshtonHale's full-lifecycle services. Imogen Zulver, who joined AshtonHale in 2026, was previously at Lichfields, evidencing talent overlap.
Broad incumbents
- Barton Willmore (now part of Stantec): Major UK planning consultancy now integrated into Stantec's global design and engineering business. Direct competitor on large-scale residential, mixed-use and masterplanning mandates, with the backing of a much larger global firm.
- Avison Young (Planning): Global real estate advisory whose planning team is the former HOW Planning. AshtonHale's founders previously led planning at Avison Young/HOW Planning; Avison Young is a broader multi-discipline incumbent competing for the same mandates through a wider service portfolio.
- RPS Group (Planning): Global consulting firm with a substantial UK planning division. Competes for developer planning mandates while offering broader environmental, engineering and project management capability beyond AshtonHale's scope.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
AshtonHale social profiles
Digital presenceAshtonHale financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AshtonHale leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
AshtonHale funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AshtonHale M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about AshtonHale
What does AshtonHale do?
AshtonHale is an independent specialist town planning consultancy providing commercially-minded planning advice and representation to developers, housebuilders, architects, and the public sector across the UK. The firm manages the full development lifecycle through five core services: Planning Strategy, Planning Applications, Local Plan Promotion, Planning Appeals & Expert Witness, and Development Delivery.
Is AshtonHale a public or private company?
AshtonHale is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was AshtonHale founded?
AshtonHale was founded in 2023. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is AshtonHale based?
AshtonHale is headquartered in Manchester, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does AshtonHale make money?
One revenue line is on record: planning Consultancy Services.
Who are AshtonHale's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Turley, Montagu Evans, Boyer Planning, DP9, Pegasus Group, Bidwells and Lichfields. Broad incumbents are Barton Willmore (now part of Stantec), Avison Young (Planning) and RPS Group (Planning).
Does AshtonHale have an API?
No public API is recorded for AshtonHale.
What industry is AshtonHale in?
AshtonHale's product category is Town Planning Consultancy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAAALAG, Architecture, Planning & Surveying (AIA, Planning, Land Surveyor CE). Its NAICS code is 54131 and its SIC code is 9995.