Q&A: Five minutes with Victoria Du Croz, Head of Planning at Forsters, featured in Property Week

Head of Planning, Victoria Du Croz, spoke to Property Week in their regular ‘Five Minutes With’ column on how she got started in property, her favourite destination, her top book and album recommendations and the celebrity she would most like to meet.

How did you join the property industry?

“I was able to do a few law modules while studying English literature at Durham University and found the subject fascinating. I got accepted on to a vacation scheme at Lovell White Durrant (now Hogan Lovells), at the end of which I was offered a training contract. After qualifying, I could not decide between international banking or planning, but I am so relieved I chose the latter and have not looked back.”

What does your job entail?

“I am head of planning at Forsters, working closely with my commercial and rural estates colleagues to advise on all aspects of planning law. We advise major developers, institutional investors, housebuilders, high-net-worth individuals, strategic land promoters, landowners, local authorities, film studios, hotel operators – basically anyone who needs planning law advice.”

What do you like most about the property industry?

“I love that there is a physical building at the end of it. I am incredibly proud of the schemes I have worked on – my family says that from the way I talk about the finished buildings, you would think I had personally built them.”

The article was first published on Property Week on 16 February 2024, and is available to read in full here, behind the paywall.