Lewis Silkin takes up regeneration instruction for Bristol City Council

Lewis Silkin has won a tender against four City firms to advise Bristol City Council on a major regeneration project. It is one of just a handful of projects that the council has outsourced in recent years.
The council does not have a regular adviser for property work because most of it is done in-house. The internal team comprises 90 staff, including fee-earners and support staff. "In the last five years, the team has only outsourced about three pieces of work," said principal conveyancing officer Paul Budd.
The firm is advising on the regeneration of the Upper Horfield Estate in North Bristol. It has prepared a framework agreement to allow the transfer of land in phases and the ultimate disposal of the estate to the Bristol Community Housing Foundation, which will become a registered social landlord (RSL). The 2.8-hectare estate was originally developed by the council in the 1920s.
Commenting on his choice of Lewis Silkin, Budd said: "We needed expertise in the area of RSL and it's a multimillion-pound project, so we needed a firm with the expertise to match that," .
The firm pitched for the work in March and has just commenced work on the project, which will probably last a couple of years.
"The council chose us because of our expertise in delivering regeneration projects and our strength in housing, development, planning and property litigation," said Lewis Silkin head of property Leonard Goodrich. "The work represents an important step forward in our growing regeneration practice."
Gillian Bastow, a partner at the firm and one of the lead partners on the project, said: "We've always had a strong property base, but we got this work because of the social housing side."
Lewis Silkin's growing client base in this area includes Peabody Trust, Broomleigh Housing Association and the Millennium Commission. Last year, partner Lynne Murray advised Newham Council's urban renewal charity Passmore Urban Renewal on the £92.5m regeneration programme for Forest Gate and Plaistow.
The Lewis Silkin team working on the project includes Bastow, fellow property and housing partner Brian Kilcoyne and associate Linda Convery.
No other legal advisers have yet been appointed.