Urbis acquires niche urban planning consultancy Echelon Planning

Building on a relationship spanning over 20 years, Echelon Planning has integrated into the consulting practice Urbis.

Founded in 2012, Echelon Planning is a niche urban planning consultancy based in Brunswick, Victoria. The consulting firm works with state and local governments, property developers, landowners and companies looking to undertake planning and development projects of various types.

As part of a 900-strong multidisciplinary consulting practice, this acquisition grows the national planning practice of Urbis to over 350 consultants, making it one of the largest of its kind in Australia.  

“The Echelon team brings expanded depth and breadth to our strategic services, and long-standing relationships with trusted key clients. Together we’re bolstering our ability to tackle the biggest liveability challenges facing our cities and communities now and into the future,” said Ben Pollack, CEO of Urbis.

The move will see the two co-founders of Echelon Planning, Mark Woodland and Sarah McQuillen, join Urbis as a director. They both have over 20 years of experience working on large scale planning and urban renewal projects, and preparing strategic plans and studies for major development sites.

Woodland: “We’re excited to continue providing our public and private sector clients with the same independent, tailored, expert advice that they have come to expect from us, while also being able to offer enhanced capacity and a wider range of expertise for larger, more complex projects.”

McQuillen added: “It’s a big decision for a small consultancy business to make a change like this. For us, joining the Urbis team means we can continue to provide expert planning advice, project positioning and insights to our clients, as well as collaborate with Urbis’ broader disciplines and capabilities on strategic planning projects.”