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WSP Land helps infrastructure clients secure land and rights in land for delivery. From early route selection through to construction, our integrated land team provides the expertise and systems needed to unlock land.

Our specialists combine land referencing, access, acquisition, valuation, surveying, stakeholder engagement and secure digital spatial data management systems to deliver robust, auditable land solutions. With international scale and local expertise, we support complex projects across all infrastructure and development sectors.

How we help

  • Identify all land and legal interests in land using diligent enquiry, Land Registry review and site investigation
  • Support better routing and site selection of projects through mapping of land ownership, constraints and opportunities
  • Maximise efficiencies through digital outputs that speed up planning and statutory submissions
Land referencing and identification
  • Develop better third-party relationships and buy in through early, proportionate and meaningful landowner engagement
  • Maintain outcome-focused strategies to manage communications and consultation, defensible against challenge
  • Increase greater landowner agreement through proactive engagement strategies
Landowner engagement
  • Streamline land assembly through industry leading land acquisition strategies for linear infrastructure, sites and access
  • Maximise secured agreements through negotiations for options, exclusivity, acquisition, leases, licences, easements, servitudes, wayleaves and compensation across agricultural, commercial, residential and all land and property
  • Provide greater certainty of costs through valuation advice and services in line with RICS standards and market evidence
Land assembly
  • Secure access for surveys, inspections and construction activities in line with survey windows and programme
  • Reduce costs of compensation claims through proactive negotiation and scrutiny, managing timely payments to landowners
  • Enable resilience and surety of claims through coordination of pre- and post-condition surveys and site access arrangements
Access
  • Deliver accurate and reliable baseline information through topographical surveys, using the latest technology to produce 3D models, plans, photographs, UAV outputs, point clouds, REVIT models, videos and monitoring reports
  • Provide surety of the location of assets and apparatus through underground utility mapping and ground penetrating radar to map the position and depth of underground service infrastructure
Land Surveying
  • Advise and support Development Consent Orders, Compulsory Purchase Orders and other statutory powers
  • Deliver quality, compliant Books of Reference, Statements of Reasons, Land Plans, Works Plans and other statutory plans, as well as service of statutory and compulsory purchase notices
  • Provide surety that applications are robust to challenge for acceptance and approval, coordinating and acting as expert witnesses for public inquiries and examinations
Planning and statutory

How we work

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Deliver across the full project lifecycle

We support projects from initial route selection and pre-entry referencing through to securing land rights, compensation and close out. Click here to see our Land team’s capability statement

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Use data to drive efficiency and certainty

Our ‘PinPoint’ system provides a single source of truth for land data, combining GIS with stakeholder and property information. This creates a secure audit trail, improves collaboration across project teams and speeds up delivery of land access and planning applications. Click here to see our PinPoint capability statement

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Deploy integrated teams at scale

As the largest land team in the UK, we bring together land referencers, surveyors, valuers and engagement specialists, supported by wider planning, legal and environmental expertise. Our Land Academy upskills our staff to provide clients with trusted advice, best practice and knowledge from across practices, sectors and projects. Click here to see our Land Academy brochure

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Focus effort where it matters most

We prioritise meaningful engagement and negotiations with landowners to reach agreement, helping reduce programme risk and control costs.

Related projects

Key facts

Largest land team with land professionals in the UK & Republic of Ireland
380+
Established across energy, transport, water, utilities, aviation and regeneration sectors
35 years
Infrastructure projects delivered
500+
Our industry-first, independently certified information security and privacy controls support secure infrastructure planning processes
ISO 27001 & ISO 27701

Experts

Jones_Ashley-Parry
Ashley Parry Jones
Head of Land
United Kingdom
Vicky Bramhill
Vicky Bramhill
Land Expertise Lead
United Kingdom
Joseph Booth
Joseph Booth
Land Client Lead
United Kingdom
Lynn Arthurs
Lynn Arthurs
Land People Lead
United Kingdom
Sam Oppong
Sam Oppong
Land Operations Lead
United Kingdom
Charlie Swan
Charlie Swan
Land Survey Lead
United Kingdom
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FAQs

Land referencing is the process of identifying land and all legal interests in land, including owners and occupiers, to support planning, consultation and statutory applications.

Land assembly involves securing the land rights required to deliver a project, either through negotiated agreements or statutory powers.

Land services should begin early in the project lifecycle to inform design, reduce risk and support programme certainty. We ensure due diligence is completed to confirm existing rights, assets and boundaries and build relationships with landowners to gain buy in for your objectives from the outset.

Yes, we provide full support for statutory processes including Development Consent Orders, Hybrid Bills, Transport and Works Act Orders, Vesting Orders and Compulsory Purchase Orders. This includes the preparation of statutory deliverables, notices, Expert Witnesses and implementation of powers through acquisition of land for the project’s construction and operation.

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