We have extensive experience of all aspects of planning law, mainly acting for local planning and other public authorities, and NGOs, particularly on local plan processes, master planning, policy and strategic advice and environmental assessments.

The team regularly acts or appears in planning and enforcement appeals, local planning inquiries, criminal prosecutions, judicial review cases and High Court appeals as well as frequently acting for local planning authorities in development control work.

We advise local authorities and NGOs on the environment, including listed buildings and conservation areas, ancient and scheduled monuments and world heritage sites. We act in highways, transport and road traffic matters including s.38 and 278 Highways agreements.

The Sharpe Pritchard planning team is widely experienced in all aspects of highways, transport and road traffic matters. We advise on the creation, diversion and stopping up of highways including agreements under sections 38 and 278 of the Highways Act, planning applications, compulsory purchase, environmental assessments, orders under sections 247 and 257 of the Town and Country Planning Act and section 16 of the Highways Act.

We also advise on the construction and renewal of bridges, including bridges over navigable waters and Transport and Works Act Orders, on rights of way, definitive maps and Traffic Orders. The team has also acted in traffic commissioner's cases and Transport Tribunal matters.

Our planning team has wide experience of minerals and waste planning law, acting mainly for local planning authorities, other public authorities and NGOs. We advise on all aspects of minerals and waste plan processes, policy and strategic advice and environmental assessments. We act or appear in planning and enforcement appeals, local plan inquiries, criminal prosecutions, judicial review cases and High Court appeals. We have particular experience in negotiating section 106 and other agreements, and conditions in planning permissions on waste and minerals applications.

We can advise on all aspects of restoration, after-care and after-use including financial instruments, escrow accounts, on-demand bonds, conditional bonds and hybrid bonds. The team also advises on local authorities' own waste developments, particularly in the context of procurement exercises concerning waste collection and disposal functions.

The Sharpe Pritchard planning team has wide experience of all aspects of local authority environmental law. We have extensive experience of environmental assessments, nature conservation and SSSIs, national parks, trees and hedgerows, the SEA directive, contaminated land waste, fly tipping and environmental health law. We act or appear in criminal prosecutions and judicial review cases and also advise on the environmental law aspects of local authorities' own developments and redevelopment projects.

The planning team has wide experience of all aspects of compulsory purchase, valuation, blight and purchase notice matters. We recognise that compulsory purchase is a contentious issue and always strive to frame our advice with sensitivity to community concerns and objectives.

We advise on compensation issues arising from the revocation and modification of planning permissions, discontinuance orders, stop notices, restrictions on advertising, tree preservation orders, listed-building preservation notices and other planning, highways and environmental matters. The team acts in CPO cases concerning local authorities' own developments and back-to-back site acquisition cases where an authority acts on behalf of a developer or other public authority. We also advise on valuation and Lands Tribunal matters.

Members of the team include John Sharland, who combines a planning law practice with expertise in PFI/PPPS and stock transfers, Alastair Lewis, who is a parliamentary agent; John Harrison, who handles all aspects of planning, environmental and highways law.