Planning and Environment
Cornerstone Barristers has some of the most highly regarded barristers in the planning and environment sector. Our barristers combine specialist expertise with exceptional market knowledge to deliver strategic legal solutions. From our offices in London, Birmingham and Cardiff we advise a wide range of clients from large property developers and public bodies through to small businesses and individuals.
Our barristers are regularly involved in planning enforcement appeals and inquiries, development plan inquiries and in planning challenges before the law courts at all levels.
Our knowledge spans the full spectrum of planning and environment issues, including related areas such as public law, property, energy, and local government law. We are specialists in compulsory purchase and compensation cases.
Particular expertise includes:
- Local plans
- Green Belt and countryside
- Housing
- Compulsory purchase and compensation
- The historic environment
- Retail and commercial development
- Highways and transport infrastructure
- Energy and renewables
- Fracking
- Minerals and waste
- Habitats and species protection
- Environmental impact assessments / Strategic environmental assessments
- Commons, town and village greens
- Rights of way
Our barristers have experience acting across multiple business sectors, including development, infrastructure, energy and leisure, often acting on major inquiries and nationally significant matters.
Recently this has included:
- The rejection of four onshore wind farms following Wales’s longest ever planning inquiry;
- Challenges to highly controversial proposals concerning fracking sites in Lancashire;
- Conjoined challenges over significant basement developments in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; and
- The HS2 railway Hybrid Bill.
The team is the leading authority on planning issues and recently published the Second Edition of Cornerstone on the Planning Court. The book provides a detailed review and analysis of the work of the Planning Court, as well as a practical and tactical guide to planning judicial review and related statutory challenges.
Cornerstone holds an annual Planning Day conference (around November) which is highly popular among planning specialists, solicitors and policymakers. The conference features a series of talks from the majority of the team alongside lunch and post-conference drinks. See highlights from Planning Day 2023 below and purchase the catch-up package here.
News
- Estelle Dehon KC wins Environmental/Sustainability: Bar Champion of the Year at the Legal 500 UK ESG Awards 202426 Apr 2024
- Ruchi Parekh to speak on 24th April 2024 on “The Climate Change Act at 15: UK climate action at a crossroads”17 Apr 2024
- Robin Green acting in inquiry into planning status of Animal Health Trust site, Suffolk16 Apr 2024
- Edward Grant in public inquiry regarding proposal to demolish and build on Green Belt land near Maidenhead16 Apr 2024
- Secretary of State refuses 49.9MW solar farm in the Green Belt15 Apr 2024
Cases
- Secretary of State refuses 49.9MW solar farm in the Green Belt15 Apr 2024
- Biofuelwatch UK issues legal challenge to decision to allow carbon capture installation at Drax power plant22 Mar 2024
- Bibby Stockholm: Nina Pindham appears for Secretary of State in High Court27 Feb 2024
- Court of Appeal clarifies the ambit of Welsh Ministers’ powers over coal mining23 Feb 2024
- Emmaline Lambert and Emma Dring advocate for critical highways infrastructure at Inquiry22 Feb 2024