Stephenson Halliday has appointed Julia Frost as a Director and Adam McConaghy as Principal Planner in its Edinburgh office.

Julia was previously Planning Director at both Scott Hobbs Planning and Turley; she was also previously Operations Manager at Planning Aid Scotland, where she focused on community engagement and local place planning. At Stephenson Halliday, Julia will be responsible for leading residential, commercial and tourism projects in Scotland, and building on the office’s existing client base, particularly renewable energy.

At Scott Hobbs Planning, Julia successfully led several significant commercial projects including office, hotel, purpose built student accommodation (PBSA), housing and tourism developments, acting for a range of developers and landowners.

Julia said: "I am delighted to be joining Stephenson Halliday at a time of significant expansion and growth, helping expand its enviable planning track record in renewable energy and grow its commercial sector repertoire in Scotland."

Adam previously worked at Iceni Projects in Edinburgh where he helped secure planning consents in the residential, tourism, PBSA, education, retail and logistics sectors. Prior to Iceni, Adam worked on various commercial developments at CBRE, in London and Edinburgh. At Stephenson Halliday, he will be involved in growing the office's client base across various commercial sectors and helping to deliver the team’s existing pipeline of renewable energy and infrastructure projects.

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"I am delighted to be joining Stephenson Halliday at such an exciting time. I was attracted to the company due to its strong track record and experience in residential, commercial and hospitality sectors, and look forward to building on this in the region," said Adam.

Frost and McConaghy's appointments are part of Stephenson Halliday's continued growth strategy in Scotland, following the appointment of Lisa Russell as Scotland’s Lead Planning and EIA Director in 2022. "Julia and Adam are very welcome additions to our team," said Lisa. "They are both respected, trusted, and talented planners whose expertise further strengthens our offering. Their arrival sees our Scottish team grow to seven, reflecting our continued investment in providing clients with top-tier planning and environmental advice."

The appointments come at a pivotal time for the business, supporting a strong and diverse pipeline of exciting projects across a wide range of sectors in Scotland. In addition to reinforcing the team\s extensive track record in renewables, Julia and Adam's experience will help consolidate the team’s capacity to promote and deliver high-quality urban development. This includes projects in the residential, leisure, tourism, and commercial sectors for a wide range of public and private clients.

Lisa added: "Our team already brings deep insight and credibility to planning and consenting processes across Scotland. These new appointments mark another step forward in ensuring we remain at the forefront of delivering sustainable growth and positive change for communities and clients alike."

Stephenson Halliday’s Managing Director Adam Perry said: "We are delighted to welcome Julia and Adam to our Edinburgh team. We are seeing increased need for our services, across all sectors, in Scotland and are keen to continue our expansion in this vibrant region which is experiencing such exciting growth."