An outstanding team, who are well-resourced and offer a wealth of experience. The team are also highly dedicated in helping clients navigate through the legal complexities and implications of biodiversity net gain.
Our planning team is one of the largest outside London, and advises on all aspects of Town and Country Planning law and related disciplines such as highways law, compulsory acquisition, and judicial review. We are known for our experience and expertise and are supported by an in-house team of chartered town planners and plans technicians.
The team acts for a wide range of clients – including national and regional housebuilders, registered providers, Built-to-Rent operators, landowners and land promoters, funders/investors, statutory undertakers, charities, and local authorities/public sector bodies.
As such, we are able to provide a 360-degree perspective on the planning elements of the consenting, delivery and disposal stages of the development lifecycle.
Our services
Strategic planning advice
We are involved in our clients’ planning strategies from the outset, and advise on planning application content and tactics, including Section 106 and other legal agreements (see below), landowner arrangements, implementation strategies, and exit / disposal arrangements. The team’s wide ranging experience means we can advise on all areas of the planning system, including the law as it relates to specialist fields such as heritage, transport planning, ecology and landscape / design.
Section 106 Agreements (and similar)
We advise on the drafting and negotiation of (often complex) planning obligations, including bespoke arrangements to address (for example) viability reviews, land transaction complications, Habitats Regs issues and BNG. We have advised on Section 106 Agreements in support of schemes of all sizes, from 6,000 home Garden Villages to single dwellings in sensitive locations.
Planning appeals
We regularly advise clients on the prospects and merits of Section 78 appeals and Call-Ins. Our service ranges from advocacy roles to working alongside leading planning Counsel, from hands-on project management to high-level support, and from high-profile schemes to small scale written reps and hearings. The team also advises on and represents clients at local plan examinations, issue-specific hearings and planning committee meetings.
Judicial Review and S288 Statutory Challenges
The team has recent success in both bringing and resisting High Court planning litigation. The team works closely with the wider Ward Hadaway civil litigation experts to manage the whole process, including advising on merits, facts & grounds, dealing with all aspects of Court procedure, and instructing planning Counsel.
Transport works and nationally significant infrastructure projects
We act for landowners, statutory consultees, host authorities and other interested parties on the planning and compulsory purchase aspects of a wide range of transport works and nationally significant infrastructure projects. We specialise in advising on protective provisions, consultation responses & evidence, representation at hearings and examinations, drafting and advising on voluntary land arrangements, and dealing with compensation claims.
Affordable Housing
The team is particularly experienced in advising on the requirements of affordable housing providers from the perspective of both registered providers and those selling land and/or plots to them. Our planning lawyers are familiar with the nuanced interaction between the planning and grant funding regimes, as well as arrangements to protect both funders and tenants, which are often vital to scheme delivery.
Compulsory acquisition
The team advises on all aspects of the formulation, promotion and implementation of compulsory purchase schemes, including settling compensation claims and disputes. Our recent experience includes promoting schemes under planning, highways and water industry powers. The team also advises on appropriation and land assembly strategies.
Highways Law
Highways law and procedure is often intricately connected to planning decision-making. The team has experience navigating niche and complex areas of highways law, as well as drafting and advising on highway works agreements. We regularly advise on the stopping up and diversion of public rights of way and other highways, as well as oversailing licences, traffic regulation orders and street works. The team also advises on Town and Village Greens and other common land and other statutory trusts.
Land transactions and due diligence
The team regularly advises on planning conditionality and the allocation of planning responsibilities and risk in land sale agreements, development agreements and funding documents. We advise on planning reporting and certificates, and on the interrogation of planning histories and warranties.
BNG, EIA and habitats regulations
The team works at the coalface of the emerging Biodiversity Net Gain and nutrient / water neutrality regimes, and helps landowners (habitat banks), developers and local authorities to navigate the various regulations and the interplay between them. It also regularly audits and reviews environmental statements and appropriate assessments.
Community infrastructure levy
We are often asked to interpret and apply the CIL Regulations in connection with new developments, particularly in the context of reliefs and exemptions, and advise on strategies to de-risk CIL liabilities. Development viability and cash-flow is often intertwined with CIL, and early engagement with CIL strategies can ensure CIL liabilities mirror the development programme.
Enforcement
The team has considerable experience advising on enforcement notices and other potential or alleged breaches of planning control. It provides specialist advice in relation to both prosecution and defence work, and in relation to both civil action and criminal liability, The team regularly advises on the drafting of responses to planning contravention notices, and advises on compliance and de-risking strategies. The team also drafts and reviews applications for certificates of lawful existing use / proposed development.