Gillespies appoints Samantha Leathers as new Head of Landscape Planning for the south region

Gillespies is pleased to announce the appointment of Samantha Leathers as its new Head of Landscape Planning for the South Region, further strengthening its national landscape planning scope and capacity.

In this new role, Samantha will lead the growth of Gillespies’ landscape planning portfolio across the South in a broad range of sectors, while collaborating closely with the Northern planning team to support a growing pipeline of nationally significant landscape planning projects.

A Chartered Landscape Architect and Affiliate member of IEMA, with over 25 years’ experience in both the public and private sectors, Samantha will play a key role in helping the practice respond to the UK Government’s ambition to green the grid and accelerate the shift to a low-carbon energy future as well as Her work will help ensure that emerging developments, from town centre developments to new garden communities, are underpinned by environmental resilience and landscape sensitivity.

Before joining Gillespies, Samantha led landscape planning teams at Pegasus Group, Liz Lake Associates and AECOM, where she delivered a broad range of projects, including residential-led masterplans, town centre regeneration schemes, cross-national energy infrastructure, renewable energy facilities, and business and Leisure parks.

Samantha brings considerable expertise in strategic landscape planning, as well as in the delivery of Landscape/Townscape and Visual Impact Assessments (LVIA/TVIA), EIA and Appeal work for residential, mixed-use, and complex infrastructure projects in the UK and Europe. Her qualifications in Urban Design further strengthen her ability to bridge the gap between technical assessment, planning policy, and placemaking, creating environments that are sustainable, people-focused, and future-ready.

Jim Diggle, Managing Partner of Gillespies, commented on the appointment, "We are thrilled to welcome Samantha to the team. Her knowledge and leadership will be a huge asset as we continue to grow our landscape planning services and support the global shift towards a low-carbon future. Samantha’s appointment ensures we are ready to help our clients respond with creativity, rigour, and environmental sensitivity."