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I am a planning specialist and have a particular focus on advising local authorities in both contentious and non-contentious planning matters. I have specialist local government expertise, having previously worked for local authority legal services for over five years.
My work includes town centre regeneration matters, transactional section 106 agreements, certificate of lawfulness applications, permitted development advice, planning enforcement advice, CIL, Neighbourhood Plan and Local Plan processes, policy queries, Assets of Community Value, Article 4 directions, judicial review challenges, public inquiries and statutory appeals.
My practice includes: planning agreements, Compulsory Purchase Orders, planning enforcement, technical planning advice, highways matters, planning strategy, public inquiries, statutory appeals and judicial review challenges.
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- A significant proportion of my practice consists of drafting and advising on section 106 agreements, section 38 agreements, section 278 agreements, development agreements and deeds of variation.
- Supported a local authority client in achieving a Compulsory Purchase Order for a £750m scheme of redevelopment delivering almost 900 residential units, including assisting the authority at the public inquiry.
- Acted for a developer appealing against the non-determination of a 258-dwelling scheme in a sustainable urban location in London, including assisting throughout the public inquiry process and negotiating the section 106 agreement required to deliver infrastructure in the locality.
- Assisted with the negotiation of a complex section 106 agreement for a 2,500-dwelling urban extension.
- Achieved a Compulsory Purchase Order for a local authority client for an area of its High Street, including 20,000m2 of mixed-use business land. We also acted for the local authority in successfully resisting a statutory challenge to the Order.
- Currently assisting a housing association client with infrastructure agreements required to deliver a comprehensive scheme of regeneration, set to deliver 1,600 new homes in a central London location.
- Advised an authority defending a planning decision against a judicial review claim, succeeding at the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court levels ((Eastwood) v Windsor and Maidenhead RLBC [2016] EWCA Civ 437).
- Currently advising a number of healthcare bodies on permitted development and changes of use in response to the ongoing pandemic.
- Successfully defended a local authority’s decision to grant planning permission for the re-use of medical facilities, acting on behalf of a healthcare client in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
- Acted for a charity landowner client objecting to a Compulsory Purchase Order sought on the part of an undertaker, ultimately resolving matters by negotiation.
- Frequently advise development funders and other financial bodies on planning risks and practical commercial issues arising from schemes of development.
- Acted for authorities and developers on various planning appeal matters, including large-scale commercial development, change of use enforcement appeals, and Traveller site proposals in the Green Belt.
- Supplied comprehensive advice and support to multiple local authorities in respect of Neighbourhood and Local Plans, in relation to legal procedure, evidence base and substantive content.
- Supported an authority with the implementation process for the Community Infrastructure Levy, including delivering CIL training and providing detailed technical support on implementation.
- Supported local authorities as Legal Adviser to their Development Control Panels/Planning Committees, providing strategic and technical high-level planning advice to Officers and Members where required.
- Acted for authorities on a variety of contentious planning matters, including judicial review claims, injunctions restraining existing and anticipated breaches of planning control, and committal applications in the High Court.
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The Business and Planning Bill 2020
03/07/2020
The introduction of short term flexibilities to permission time periods, construction working hours & appeal procedure
