I've just finished my internship at Maddox Planning.
Here's what stuck with me. 

Going in, I had a rough idea of what planning involved. Coming out, I have a much better one.

 

The range of work was broader than I expected; residential development, HMOs, mixed-use schemes, rural planning appraisals, employment-led redevelopment, public-sector estate projects and early-stage feasibility advice. No two projects asked the same questions, which made it a genuinely useful way to learn. Rather than getting a narrow view of one area, I got to see how differently planning problems can present themselves depending on the site, the use and the policy context. 

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A few things that have stayed with me: 

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Planning is rarely a yes or no. So much of the work is about identifying constraints early; Green Belt, National Landscapes, heritage assets, flood risk, ecology designations, transport and building a strategy around them. It's less about whether something is allowed and more about how you make the case for it. I found it really interesting to see how experienced planners approach that process, weighing up competing considerations, reading between the lines of policy and shaping advice that's both honest and constructive. 

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Research is more central than I'd expected, and more nuanced. A lot of my time was spent reviewing local plan policies, looking into appeal precedents, summarising consultee comments and working through technical guidance. But what I hadn't anticipated was how much critical analysis goes into that research. Policy is rarely black and white. The skill is in reading it carefully, understanding the intent behind it, and finding where there's legitimate room to manoeuvre. Sometimes a policy that looks like a blocker on first read has qualifications, exceptions or a degree of flexibility that only becomes apparent when you dig into the wording, the supporting evidence base or comparable appeal decisions. Learning to spot that and find what actually works for a particular site and proposal felt like getting a glimpse of what experienced planning judgement really looks like in practice. It also showed me how important it is to go beyond the local plan itself and understand the wider policy picture, from national planning policy through to emerging plans, supplementary guidance and recent appeal trends. 

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The detail matters, and so does how you write about it. Things like room sizes, cycle storage or access arrangements can quietly shape how a proposal gets assessed and presenting those details clearly and convincingly in a planning statement is a skill in itself. 

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What made all of this land properly was the culture at Maddox Planning. I was given real work to do and trusted to get on with it, but also had room to ask questions and understand why things were being done a certain way and not just what needed doing. Colleagues were generous with their time and genuinely encouraging, which made it much easier to build confidence and contribute meaningfully. That kind of working environment isn't something you can take for granted. 

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Studying Planning and Real Estate at university, I couldn't have asked for a better fit. Working in a strategic planning consultancy meant I wasn't just building planning knowledge; being around developer clients and hearing how they think about sites, constraints and opportunities gave me a different lens on the built environment altogether. Planning decisions that I'd been analysing from a policy angle looked quite different when seen through the eyes of someone asking whether a scheme actually stacks up. That perspective is something I'll carry with me beyond planning, and it's reinforced just how interconnected the two worlds are. 

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Grateful for the experience and to everyone on the team who made it such a good few weeks.