Planning lawyers

How our planning lawyers can help you

Our specialist planning lawyers have considerable experience of all aspects of planning and related law, advising both private and public sector clients on major developments and infrastructure projects. We combine a detailed understanding of the law with both sector knowledge and practical experience. We are team players and pride ourselves on being able to identify and negotiate solutions for clients.

Services offered by our planning lawyers

We provide strategic advice, regularly undertaking legal audits of large applications and environmental statements to de-risk major projects and maximise the prospects of obtaining consent.

We routinely negotiate high-value and complex planning and highways agreements and deal with associated highways and rights of way issues.

We are experienced at conducting planning appeals and have an enviable track record in relation to High Court legal challenges in a planning context.

Our team of planning lawyers has advised on numerous urban extension projects and regularly advises both household name residential developers and local planning authorities nationally. In the last 12 months, our Planning team has been entrusted to advise on applications for well over 20,000 dwellings.

Our team has strong major infrastructure experience — our lawyers have advised on over a dozen development consent order applications for nationally significant infrastructure projects, representing promoters, local authorities and statutory consultees in relation to energy and infrastructure projects.

The team has notable compulsory purchase order experience and is currently advising on the promotion of CPOs for various major development projects, including major highways and regeneration schemes. The team also regularly advises on the use of powers of appropriation to deal with adverse third party rights or to de-risk planned developments.

The firm has unrivalled knowledge of advising local planning authorities on large and often contentious developments, including advising in Committee, on Core Strategies and on local government law.  This practical experience informs our advice to all clients and greatly assists in identifying solutions for often contentious schemes.

Examples of work undertaken by our planning lawyers

Examples of recent relevant experience of our planning lawyers:

Major residential and urban extension projects

Successfully advising on all aspects of the 4,500 dwelling North East Leicester SUE and various other SUEs .

Highways CPOs

Advising on planning aspects and promoting compulsory purchase orders for the £65 million major highways projects at Junction 10, M6 and for the 3.8km Gedling Access Road.

Development Consent Orders

Currently advising on the DCO application for the 2,500 MW Eggborough Power Station CCGT project and assisting a private sector manufacturer with its proposed energy NSIP. Our lawyers have advised on over 12 NSIPs.

Regeneration

Advising a City Council on a CPO to support delivery of the £1 billion regeneration project, to comprise 1.8m sq ft of science, technology, education and health space.

Energy and waste

Advising a developer and national waste operator on the development of new EfW facilities.

Shale gas

Advising a mineral planning authority on the grant of planning permission for a contentious shale gas scheme.

Commercial

Advising a national food retailer and Royal Mail Group on planning issues relating to sites across the country.

Legal challenges

Successfully defending a statutory review challenge in the Court of Appeal and bringing a successful appeal in the Supreme Court on behalf of a residential developer.