Ainscough Strategic Land has appointed Paver Smith to handle a media relations and community engagement programme.

Lancashire-based ASL acquires land throughout the UK for regeneration projects and new communities.

It specialises in "challenging planning areas" and Paver Smith will be helping with public consultation on sites in Bishop Auckland near Durham and Shipston-on-Stour in the Cotswolds.

ASL has worked with the Liverpool and Manchester agency previously on its site in Dolgarrog in North Wales.

Managing director, Nigel McGurk, said: "Paver Smith’s experience in the public consultation field helps us manage the planning stage carefully, ensuring that we continue to develop masterplans that work best for our communities.”