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Josh Risso-Gill
Partner

Josh Risso-Gill

Languages
  • English
Social media

Josh has more than 25 years’ experience specialising in planning, highway, compulsory purchase and listed building issues. Josh is ranked as a leading planning lawyer in the legal Directories, Practical Law Company's Which Lawyer and in the Planning Magazine Survey.

He gives strategic advice on appeals, inquiries and the judicial review of planning and development-related decisions on complex and high-profile schemes and writes legal opinions.

Josh acts for clients across the development sector, including funds, banks, investors, retailers, leisure operators and planning authorities. He has particular expertise on large scale, mixed use regeneration and infrastructure projects in urban centers. He has negotiated complex S106 planning, highways and infrastructure agreements for massive regeneration developments in Maidenhead, Merchant Square, Paddington, NOMA, Manchester, Pilgrim Quarter, Newcastle and Cambridgeshire. 

Josh is currently advising on several high-profile office and mixed-use schemes, tall office developments in the City and student / co-living tower blocks across South London. He has particular experience in the student accommodation, hotel and leisure and alternative residential sectors eg BTR and pioneering co-living schemes in Bristol and Exeter. He is known for his expertise in listed building and heritage issues.

Josh’s clients include Land Securities, Google, M&G RE, Great Portland Estates, DTZi, Colombia Threadneedle, Motcomb Estates, Frogmore RE, Threadneedle, British Steel and BBC Pension Funds, The Portman Estate, Urbanest, Aberdeen Asset Management, Beltane, JM Land, Curlew, Blackrock, Hermes, Summix.

Awards & Recognitions
01
  • Quote
    "Josh Risso-Gill is one of the most impressive planning lawyers in the UK"
    Legal 500, 2020
  • Quote
    "He knows what he is doing and great to get along with"
    Chambers and Partners
  • Quote
    "Risso-Gill is rapidly making a name for himself in redevelopment work"
    Chambers and Partners
  • Quote
    "We get a fabulous service from Josh and his team. He is pragmatic and he's done lots of big consents, which is very helpful. He guides us through to a positive conclusion"
    Chambers and Partners
  • Quote
    Josh Risso-Gill handles significant City of London development projects and has a growing reputation with handling complex schemes involving heritage issues.
    Legal 500

Relevant experience

  • City of London: 120 Fenchurch St (Generali). 65 Fleet St (JM Land). 1 Millennium Bridge House (Beltane). 12/14 New Fetter Lane (GPE). Vine St (Urbanest City). 100 Bishopsgate.
  • Student: Urbanest (Lambeth, Battersea). Summix (Bath, York, Bournemouth).
  • Land Securities: Selly Oak, Birmingham’s key strategic mixed-use, out-of-center regeneration.
  • Taras Properties: Newcastle’s largest office-led, regeneration at Pilgrim Quarter.
  • London Oxford Airport: new helicopter facilities and flights.
  • Strategic Land: Chelmsford Garden Village, Essex (Threadneedle). Cambridgeshire: NW Bio (Sawston), British Steel (Chatteris).
  • Motcomb’s Mayfair estate: restoration of the Grade I listed former "In & Out" Club 90-95 Piccadilly for residential, restaurant and hotel uses. Carrington St and 100 Piccadilly residential schemes.
  • Co-living: Bristol’s first scheme (Summix). Exeter’s first scheme (Curlew). DTZi’s COLIV fund.

Memberships & Roles

  • City of London Law Society Planning and Environmental Law Committee
  • Planning Surveyors Club
  • Trustee of the Fertile Roots Foundation fertileroots.org: sustainable development though permaculture

Lectures list

  • Josh presents regularly to clients on planning and development consent-related subjects such as the Community Infrastructure Levy, Use Classes Order and planning system reform.

Education

  • LL.B (Hons) Bristol University