Montagu Evans appoints new Head of Planning to lead next phase of growth

Montagu Evans has appointed John Weir to head its market leading Planning department as it enters the next phase of growth. A chartered surveyor and town planner, John will begin his role at Montagu Evans in October 2026.

He joins from The Church Commissioners for England, where he was Head of Real Assets, with responsibility for the investment and asset management of more than £2 billion held directly and indirectly in property portfolios across the UK and overseas.

John’s client side and asset experience spans the private and public sector, including landed estates and institutional property owners across mixed use, commercial, strategic land and infrastructure. This makes him an ideal fit for the breadth of clients and projects which Montagu Evans specialises in. In his leadership role at Montagu Evans, John will champion a client centric approach and further build and strengthen the Planning department.

Under Craig Blatchford’s 7-year tenure as Head of Department, the Planning team has grown to over 100 people, including 36 Partners, specialising in complex regeneration and repurposing projects across data centres, townscape, Central London, residential, retail, industrial and logistics and the public sector across all parts of England, Wales and Scotland. Recent high-profile projects include City of London’s Custom House, Paddington’s Fleming Centre and Centre Parcs first destination in Scotland. Blatchford, who is remaining with the business, will continue advising clients and play an active role in the ongoing success of the department when John joins.

John’s appointment reflects continued investment across the partnership, following the recent hiring of Tim Price from Savills as Equity Partner and Head of Commercial Planning and Will Lingard who joined from CBRE as a Partner in the Central London team.

This follows four Partner promotions into the Planning department earlier in the year: Kate Falconer Hall, as Equity Partner and Emma Lawrence as Salaried Partner in the Historic Environment & Townscape team; James Huish, and Colin Sinclair, as Partners in the Central London and Housing & Land teams respectively. These appointments form part of the firm’s largest-ever promotion round, with 35 people elevated across the business, including 10 new partners. They came after Montagu Evans reported a strong set of financial results in December: total annual revenue from continuing operations of £52.8m, an increase of £1.2m, and a £13.2m statutory profit for the financial year to 31 March 2025.

Alan Harris, Managing Partner, Montagu Evans said:
“Spearheaded for seven successful years by Craig Blatchford, who will remain with the firm, our Planning department has built unsurpassed capability for unlocking value for clients in complex scenarios. This set of skills and expertise has never been more in demand than today, when clients are facing particularly challenging market conditions, not least the far-reaching implications of the upcoming revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework and continuing viability pressures.

“At this pivotal moment for planning and development, John brings invaluable experience leading real estate strategy and operations at The Church Commissioners for England. Throughout his career he has worked with a range of asset classes and, in consultancy roles, with the public and private sectors and is a long standing, trusted adviser to C-suites. John will play a critical role in helping clients navigate fast-moving and challenging market conditions, bringing exceptional experience, expertise and connections that will allow us to unlock even more value for our clients.”

Commenting on his appointment, John Weir said:
“Montagu Evans combines a strong platform with a team of exceptional calibre. It is well placed to support clients through a complex market, from development viability and cost of finance to increasing regulatory pressure in planning. That clarity of advice and focus on outcomes is what makes the firm stand out and I’m looking forward to contributing to the next phase of growth.”