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Gemma Duncan

Gemma Duncan

Partner

020 7405 4600

Contact by email

Gemma works with a range of public and private sector clients on their commercial property portfolios to include freehold and leasehold acquisitions and disposals, title due diligence, agreements for lease, licenses and development agreements.

Gemma has particular expertise in advising local authorities on complex regeneration schemes and relishes the opportunity to be involved in transformative schemes from concept to completion. Her work involves advising clients on site assembly, routes to market, procurement of developer and drafting and negotiation of development documentation including development agreements, collaboration agreements, joint venture agreements, transfer and lease documentation and construction documentation and warranties.

Gemma advises local authorities on the EU Public Procurement regime particularly as it applies to development agreements and land transactions and is regularly involved in development procurements involving the competitive dialogue procedure.

She also specialises in advising local authorities and schools on school land issues, including the property aspects of academy conversion and changing school status.

Gemma also provides training on commercial property and procurement law issues.

  • Central Government
  • Corporate Clients
  • Education Providers
  • Energy Sector
  • Health
  • Housing Sector
  • Leisure
  • Local Government
  • Waste Sector
  • Acquisitions and disposals
  • Landlord and Tenant
  • Procurement
  • Public Law
  • Real Estate, Planning and Regeneration
  • Regeneration and development
  • Acting for a London Borough in the regeneration of a town centre, including giving strategic advice on the procurement process and joint venture arrangements with the private sector developer and another public sector body.
  • Acting for a Borough Council in the south-east of England on a scheme for a new out of town residential development, including advising on option agreements, deeds of easement, overage deed, legal charge and deed of priority and advising on appropriation and disposal of open space land.
  • Acting for Hertfordshire County Council on its competitive dialogue procurement (jointly with the Borough of Broxbourne) of a development partner to regenerate the Brookfield Riverside area of Broxbourne.
  • Advising LB Wandsworth on all aspects of its competitive dialogue procurement of a development partner for the mixed use regeneration of a town centre.
  • Advising a number of local authority clients on the property aspects of academy conversions.

In March 2023 the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities asked the Law Commission to carry out a review of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 as part of its Anti-Social Behaviour Plan to “revitalise high streets and town centres, creating thriving spaces which landlords, businesses and communities choose to invest in and use.”…

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The Law Society proposes to introduce a new code in 2024 for signing and exchanging property contracts. The current protocols will be replaced with:- The Immediate Exchange Protocol 2024 (replaces formulae A and B). Release of Contracts Protocol 2024 (replaces formula C). Hold to Order Protocol 2024 The aim is to remove the uncertainty around…

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HM Land Registry is aiming to have no applications older than 12 months by Spring 2024. To support this goal the LR is trialing incorporating increased automation to improve their processes. Updating registered titles is said to makeup the majority of caseworkers’ work and one method that they are exploring to tackle this is called…

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The decision in Enterprise Hangars Ltd v Fareham Borough Council [2023], has reaffirmed that planning authorities should not invoke their rights as private landowners to stifle planning applications. The judgement by the High Court emphasised that planning decisions should be made purely based on planning considerations.  Considerations of the defendant local authority as landowner should…

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