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Planning
We advise planning authorities on a full range of town and country planning, highways and environmental law matters. We negotiate and prepare complex Section 106 agreements, provide legal representation (including advocacy) and advice at public inquiries and advise on all aspects of planning development control and policy work. This includes advising planning authorities in committee, prosecutions, listed buildings and conservation issues, obtaining stopping up orders and statutory planning challenges and judicial reviews. We are able to call on solicitors in other departments to advise on related issues, such as property, procurement and local government and parliamentary matters.
Members of our planning team regularly run seminars for clients and speak at external conferences. We are contributors to the Journal of Planning and Environment Law and “Planning” magazine and are rated in Legal 500. Our litigation and dispute resolution team regularly conduct planning related statutory appeal and judicial work in the Administrative Court and Higher Courts.
Recent work includes:
Negotiating and preparing Section 106 agreements for three sites in a growth area(two of which were linked to related appeals) on behalf of two district councils and the county council, involving over 2,500 dwellings, affordable housing, provision for transfers of a school and open space and transport infrastructure, as well as significant capital and revenue financial payments.
Representing a district council in a call‑in public inquiry relating to three appeal sites (over 10,000 dwellings in total) and with reasons for refusal relating to landscape, prematurity, heritage and cultural issues, highways and transport and inadequacy of environmental information. We dealt with extremely complex Section 106 agreements and separate unilateral undertakings on each site.
Negotiating and completing Section 106 agreements on six sites in central London, covering mixed residential and commercial, with provision for highways and transport works and financial contributions, affordable housing, public realm, harbourmaster building and various public facilities. In addition, an overarching agreement was prepared on four of the sites to cover matters of phasing, residential and office accommodation linkages as well as obligations for payments in lieu in various circumstances.
Advice on planning application and committee report, including on impact of public safety zones and EIA matters and detailed drafting of extremely complex and technical Section 106 obligations. Lead solicitor for the Council on the negotiation and drafting of this complex, technical and highly political Section 106 Agreement following the grant of planning permission to a major London‑based Airport for the increase in annual total aircraft movements.
