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Court of Appeal confirms Natural England’s right to seek injunction as an incidental power

In a decision issued this month, the Court of Appeal in Natural England v Cooper[1] ruled that Natural England (“NE”) has the power (and standing) to obtain injunctions to secure compliance with regulations that govern the use of uncultivated land.

The regulations concerned are the Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (England) (No. 2) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006 No.

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Travis Perkins fined £2m for fatal accident – Sharpe Pritchard supports Lewes District Council in health and safety prosecution

Simon Kiely, a Partner in Sharpe Pritchard’s Dispute Resolution team, acted for Lewes District Council in prosecuting national building materials supplier Travis Perkins.

The prosecution came about for offences under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (the Act) following a fatal accident involving wood falling from one of their delivery vehicles.

At a hearing on 23 January

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Class Action Tsunami: Water companies face £1.5bn claim for allegedly misleading customers and regulators

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”) is this week considering a landmark class action brought against six of England’s largest water companies. The case will have implications for Ofwat, water companies and customers alike. Our regulatory and competition experts consider what we know so far and what lies ahead for the parties and billpayers.

Case Overview

The landmark class action brought

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Key updates to the Administrative Court Guide

The Administrative Court Guide (“Guide“) provides detailed guidance on judicial review proceedings in the Administrative Court, summarising relevant case law, the Civil Procedure Rules (“CPR“), and supporting practice directions. Whilst the Guide does not have legal force, it is “required reading” for all involved in judicial review proceedings. The Guide is now in its ninth edition

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Recent orders for possession in University protest camp claims– implications for academic institutions

Background

Since October 2023, pro-Palestinian protests have been held on the grounds of many UK universities. Whilst universities have given permission for a number of events to take place, in some cases protesters have set up unauthorised encampments on university premises and have refused to comply with demands to vacate. Typically located on open spaces on university grounds, these camps

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The King’s Speech – What is on the Employment Law Horizon

The King’s Speech on Wednesday, 17 July, launched the plans for the new Labour Government. Whilst there is quite a lot of information to unpack in the government’s plans, David Leach lifts the lid on what to expect from an employment law perspective.

Labour set out their proposals in their election manifesto, so a number of the key proposals will

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