Sara Hanrahan
UK Guide 2025
Band 5 : Planning
Email address
[email protected]Contact number
+44 (0)20 7074 8327Share profile
Band 5
About
Provided by Sara Hanrahan
Practice Areas
Sara Hanrahan is a specialist planning lawyer. She is a partner within the London real estate team and advises on all aspects of planning for commercial clients, the public sector, as well as entrepreneurs and private clients. She has particular expertise in large-scale regeneration projects, both in London and around the UK, as well as extensive listed building experience.
Sara also advises a range of clients within the retail, leisure and hospitality sector, warehouse/logistics, corporate occupiers and alternative energy.
Sara provides both strategic planning advice, including feasibility and risk, as well as transactional advice relating to development and property-related corporate transactions. She also acts for clients for contentious planning matters including planning and enforcement appeals, and judicial review.
In addition to her commercial work, Sara provides bespoke advice for private clients on all planning related matters which includes high level advice on securing planning permission for works or change of use, particularly within Prime London, project managing pre-applications and full planning applications, applying for certificates of lawfulness, and CIL.
Sara’s style is collaborative and solution-focused.
Career
Sara’s clients include developers, local planning authorities, housing providers, and private individuals, as well as landed estates and corporate occupiers in various sectors including tech companies, and operators in the retail, leisure and hospitality sector.
She also has extensive experience advising on planning relating to alternative energy projects, including wind farms and solar parks, acting for providers, land owners and communities.
Professional Memberships
Member of City of London Law Society Planning and Environmental Committee
Publications
Regular contributor to variety of publications including the Estates Gazette, The Planner, The Brief, and Planning Magazine
Chambers Review
UK
Sara Hanrahan of Blake Morganhas extensive experience advising on urban regeneration and redevelopment projects, particularly within the leisure, hospitality and retail sectors. She works with developers, high net worth individuals, housing associations and local government.
Strengths
Provided by Chambers
"Sara always delivers top-level advice on time and on budget. She sets out the technical answers but also gives clear, practical advice as to how best to proceed."
"Sara is one of the leading professionals and her network and experience is unmatched for planning-related matters."
"Sara is always promptly responsive to queries with a depth of knowledge resulting in the provision of well thought-out solutions to problems."
"Sara always delivers top-level advice on time and on budget. She sets out the technical answers but also gives clear, practical advice as to how best to proceed."
"Sara is one of the leading professionals and her network and experience is unmatched for planning-related matters."
"Sara is always promptly responsive to queries with a depth of knowledge resulting in the provision of well thought-out solutions to problems."