020 7242 4986 or 0333 240 0591 London | Birmingham | Cardiff
Clare has a busy and growing practice in public law encompassing in particular planning, housing, regulatory and property law. She regularly acts both for and against central government, local authorities and other public bodies.
Clare has been instructed by the Department for Transport to join the legal team advising on a wide variety of aspects of the HS2 project.
Clare's particular expertise in public law was recognised in 2013 by appointment to the Attorney General's Panel of Counsel (C Panel). She has been listed on The Planner's Women of Influence 2018.
Clare has a busy and growing practice in public law encompassing in particular planning, housing, regulatory and property law. She regularly acts both for and against central government, local authorities and other public bodies.
Clare's particular interest in and expertise in public law was recognised in 2013 by appointment to the Attorney General's Panel of Counsel (C Panel).
Clare has been consistently ranked in the top 10 of Planning Magazines 'top rated under 35s' since 2011.
Clare is ranked as a leading junior in planning by Chambers & Partners which has previously stated: "She is very thorough and very easy to talk to, and provides good, clear reasoning." "She has that ability to grasp and tackle the main issues in a case."
Clare was called to the bar in 2005 having read law at Oriel College, Oxford, where she obtained a first class degree.
In such spare time as she has, Clare is learning Welsh.
"She's a superb advocate who is good on incredibly complex local challenges." Chambers & Partners 2018
"She always delivers a first-class service. She turns jobs around very efficiently and often when faced with very difficult time constraints." Chambers & Partners 2017
"She has good knowledge and is excellent in court." Chambers & Partners 2017
"As an advocate she matches a detailed command of the papers with a terrier-like cross-examination style that is both effective and goes down well with clients." Chambers & Partners 2016
Clare is ranked as a leading junior in planning by Chambers & Partners and in Planning Magazine's top rated under 35s.
Clare regularly advises on and appears at inquiry and in the High Court in respect of all aspects of planning law. She represents a range of clients including local authorities, developers (including Taylor Wimpey), action groups and central government.
Particularly notable inquiries include:
Notable cases in the courts include:
Clare has particular experience of the following aspects of planning:
A significant proportion of Clare's planning practice is based in Wales.
Commons, town and village greens
Clare has advised on a number of issues in connection with Town and Village Greens, including a question of whether the land being held under various statutes prevented the user from being 'as of right' and generally what steps a registration authority faced with an application should take. She has appeared in village green inquiries both promoting and opposing the registering of land as a Town and Village Green. She has appeared in the case of Leeds Group Plc v Leeds City Council.
Energy and renewables
Clare represented Powys County Council (with Tom Cosgrove) in the largest onshore wind farm inquiry lasting over a year, and dealing with five wind farm schemes plus a grid application.She has also advised on and appeared in inquiries and judicial reviews relating to a range of schemes from one small turbine to much larger schemes. She is well versed in the range of issues that arise at wind farm inquiries including: landscape, heritage, ecology, transport, noise and policy.
Green belt and countryside
Clare has advised on and appeared in green belt matters, both at planning inquiry and in the High Court.
Housing
Clare has advised on and appeared in a number of appeals against refusal of applications for housing. These range from one day inquiries raising one or two issues to a three week inquiry against the building of housing at Llanishen reservoir on behalf of local residents. She has dealt with issues such as design, five year land supply, impacts of housing on existing resident, living conditions of future residents and highway safety.
Planning enforcement
Clare regularly advises on and appears in enforcement matters. These range from one-day matters to a two week inquiry into an enforcement notice issued against the alleged intensification of a scrapyard use (led by Anthony Dinkin QC).
Retail development
Clare has advised on and appeared in a number of matters involving retail development. In particular she was involved in a two week inquiry opposing the building of a new Tescos in Ashtead, Surrey, involving issues of impact on other retailers, environmental impact, design and highway safety.
Rights of way
Clare has advised on a number of matters involving rights of way. She has appeared at the High Court on behalf of the Ramblers Association in appeals against inspectors decisions on rights of way matters. She has also appeared in an inquiry into the making of an order recording a path on the definitive map, and defending a judicial review into the making of an order.
The Historic environment
Clare has advised on and appeared in a number of matters involving listed buildings or conservation areas. She has also dealt with a hearing into a purchase notice served following refusal of listed building consent, which she successfully defeated on behalf of a local authority.
Clare has a particular interest in public law. The nature of her practice is such that public law issues pervade almost all the work she does, from appearing in front of the AIT or at planning inquiries to appearing in the High Court. She is on the Attorney General's Panel of Counsel (C Panel). She has advised on, and appeared in, the following types of cases in particular:
Clare has experience of advising on and dealing with the following areas of law on judicial review applications:
Clare appears very regularly in immigration judicial review cases predominantly on behalf of the Secretary of State. She has also represented applicants in both the lower and upper tribunals on a wide range of issues including appeals against entry clearance refusals, asylum claims, deportation hearings and reconsideration hearings.
Reported cases include R. (on the application of Kurmekaj) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2014] EWHC 1701 (Admin).
Clare is instructed by a number of local authorities to appear in and advise on a very wide range of matters. She is used to dealing with the problems and concerns particular to local authorities as they apply to all areas of her practice.
Clare appears regularly for both social and private landlords, and for tenants.
In particular Clare appears in and advises on:
Clare regularly gives talks on all aspects of housing law and homelessness.
Clare has appeared predominantly for landlords but also for tenants in disrepair cases, whether brought as counterclaims or stand-alone matters. She has also appeared in the property tribunal on housing conditions cases under the 2004 Act.
Clare regularly appears in and advises on section 204 homelessness cases in the County Court and in High Court proceedings. She also advises on homelessness issues as they arise in other housing cases.
Clare's property practice overlaps significantly with her housing work. Since commencing practice Clare has developed her practice appearing regularly for both social and private landlords. In particular Clare appears in and advises on:
In relation to village greens Clare appeared for applicants in a village green inquiry relating to a former railway. She has also appeared in the case of Leeds Group Plc v Leeds City Council.
Clare has advised and appeared in a number of licensing matters. Particular experience includes:
Clare has also dealt with more unusual areas of licensing including:
Clare is a contributor to Philip Kolvin's book Gambling for Local Authorities.
Clare appears regularly in the County and High Court usually, although not always, in cases involving a public law element.
Clare has conducted trials in both the Magistrates and Crown Court, along with the normal range of preliminary and sentencing hearings. She has experience of both prosecution and defence. Clare has particular experience of the following areas:
Clare represented Powys County Council (with Tom Cosgrove) in the largest onshore wind farm inquiry lasting over a year, and dealing with five wind farm schemes plus a grid application.
She has also advised on and appeared in inquiries and judicial reviews relating to a range of schemes from one small turbine to much larger schemes.
She is well versed in the range of issues that arise at wind farm inquiries including: landscape, heritage, ecology, transport, noise and policy.
2nd October 2015
Clare Parry has authored an article considering the Department of Energy & Climate Change's decision to reject five onshore wind farm projects in Powys, Mid Wales, following the UK's biggest onshore wind farm public inquiry which closed in May 2014. Clare Parry and Tom Cosgrove were instructed on behalf of Powys County Council to oppose the wind farms.
Click here to read the article in full.
1st September 2015
Cornerstone on the Planning Court, the definitive guide to the new Planning Court produced by Cornerstone Barristers, is now available to buy online and in book shops.
Edited by Tom Cosgrove and written by members of the Cornerstone Planning Team, the guide is the first of its kind to analyse the procedures and work of the Planning Court which was introduced in April 2014.
Designed to be practical and accessible, it is the essential reference for all those who are involved in bringing or defending claims in the Court, and those who have an interest in the broad range of claims that now fall within the Court's remit. The guide will be of particular use to those instructing solicitors and barristers in planning related matters such as planning consultancies, development companies, pressure groups and individuals, as well as solicitors, professional planning bodies and local authorities.
Contributors to Cornerstone on the Planning Court include Michael Bedford QC, Josef Cannon, Estelle Dehon, Emma Dring, James Findlay QC, Robin Green, Mark Lowe QC, Jack Parker, Clare Parry, Asitha Ranatunga and Robert Williams.
For further information on Cornerstone on the Planning Court or to purchase a copy, click here.
27th June 2015
Martin Edwards and Clare Parry have written an article on the Planning Court for Estate Gazette's Planning Special supplement. The article considers the Court a year on from it's inception in April 2014 and explores whether the Court has succeeded in increasing levels of specialism on the bench and reducing the time it takes for cases to be heard.
7th May 2015
Mary Cook, Martin Edwards and Clare Parry feature in The Planner Magazine this month.
Click here for the full article.
23rd August 2007
In partnership with the Institute of Licensing, Cornerstone Barristers has produced a new publication: Gambling for Local Authorities: Licensing, Planning and Regeneration (General Editor: Philip Kolvin).
The book is designed to abbreviate and simplify the new law of gambling. It is intended for easy reading by both officers and members involved in licensing and allied fields such as planning and regeneration. It is the only book which will draw the important links between planning and licensing and which involves experts from across all the relevant disciplines. Writers include Philip Kolvin QC, Mark Lowe QC, Rory Clarke, Michael Bedford, Josef Cannon and Clare Parry.
Other writers include Institute Vice Chair Professor Colin Manchester (Professor of Licensing Law, University of Warwick), Professor Peter Collins (a leading expert in gambling and regeneration), planning expert Andy Arrick of Roger Tym & Partners, Jeremy Phillips (who edits Patersons) and William Hill Chief Executive David Harding. We are hoping that it will become a standard reference work in its field.
We do hope that you will take advantage of this offer before it ends. Further information on the book is set out below, together with an order form.
Click here for further details.
Reviews include:
"An excellent account of the framework of the new Act", and "strongly recommended". Roy Light, a professor of law UWE and a barrister at St John's Chambers, Bristol, writing in Solicitor's Journal
"A testimony to the changed landscape and the lifting of local authority regulation to a higher plane. Wearing the badge of the Institute of Licensing, as it does, this volume is as much an advertisement for the new order as it is a valuable contribution to modern gambling knowledge." The Licensing Review [70], July 2007
"In this timely and extremely important new book, Philip Kolvin and his team cut through this enormous piece of legislation with a light narrative style, incisive comments and useful practical applications. The book is suitable for anyone with any involvement with the new legislation, whether they are from the licensing authority, planning authority, gambling industry or responsible authorities or interested parties. Technical matters are clearly explained, the practical aspects of application and challenge are clarified and the use of the various licences and permissions is detailed and comprehensible. For a book to succeed, it must be both useful and accessible, and "Gambling for local authorities: licensing, planning and regeneration" seems set to succeed on both levels. It is highly recommended." James Button, PH Law
"Kolvin's book provides answers for the many challenges facing local authorities under the new legislation. It is a good advert for the legal profession." Dr. Mark Griffiths, Professor of Gambling Studies, Nottingham Trent University
Clare regularly gives talks on aspects of planning law.
Case
Important Developments in Neighbourhood Plans
21st July 2017
Two recent important developments have helped clarify the law in relation to neighbourhood plans. Firstly on the 7th July 2017 the Supreme Court refused permission to appeal in DLA Delivery Ltd....News
Planning Magazine - Still scope for challenges to costs protection rules
5th May 2017
Clare Parry has written a column for Planning Magazine which considers the new provisions introduced in February which govern the circumstances in which applicants can obtain costs protection in "Aarhus"....Case
Natural England’s approach to in combination impacts of car generating plans cannot be supported
21st March 2017
In a judgment likely to have far reaching implications for plan-making and development control, Mr Justice Jay has held that Natural England's advice on the correct approach to in-combination effects....News
Planning Magazine - What new court cost rules mean for objectors and councils
10th March 2017
Clare Parry comments on the potential impact of new court cost rules on local authorities and objectors who pursue legal challenges to planning decisions. Clare notes that the government may....News
Important Changes in Costs in Planning Challenges
28th February 2017
Coming into force today (the 28th February 2017) the Government has made important changes to the circumstances in which those seeking to challenge planning decisions can obtain protection against paying....Case
Neighbourhood plans can come forward ahead of up to date local plans
13th February 2017
Given the ongoing difficulties many local planning authorities are experiencing in bringing forward up to date local plans, the question of whether a neighbourhood plan can come forwards ahead of....Case
Supreme Court consider compensation under the Building Act 1984
23rd June 2016
The Supreme Court has today heard an appeal by Hastings Borough Council, represented by Steven Gasztowicz QC and Jack Parker (and earlier by Clare Parry), against a decision that it....News
Cornerstone Annual Planning Day
17th November 2015
"From Green to Blue – planning under the Conservatives" The Cornerstone Annual Planning Day, which took place on 16th November at the Royal College of Surgeons, saw a number of planning consultants, solicitors and....News
Local Government Lawyer: Winds of change in Wales
2nd November 2015
Clare Parry has authored an article considering the Department of Energy & Climate Change's decision to reject five onshore wind farm projects in Powys, Mid Wales, following the UK's biggest....News
Solicitors Journal - A long and winding road in Wales
27th October 2015
Tom Cosgrove has authored an article on the rejection of several wind farm applications in Wales, following the longest ever planning inquiry of its kind. Tom Cosgrove and Clare Parry acted....News
20th October 2015
On Monday 19th October the Cornerstone Planning Team presented a Wales Planning Law Update at our Wales office at One Caspian Point. The day consisted of a morning seminar for Local....Case
Local Government Lawyer - Winds of change in Wales?
12th October 2015
Clare Parry has authored an article considering the Department of Energy & Climate Change's decision to reject five onshore wind farm projects in Powys, Mid Wales, following the UK's biggest....Case
9th September 2015
Four onshore wind farm projects in Powys, Mid Wales have been rejected by the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC).
....Case
High Court rejects another challenge to a neighourhood plan
2nd September 2015
In previous challenges[1] the Courts have not proved receptive to challenges to the process of bringing into force neighbourhood plans, and in DLA Delivery v Lewes District Council [2015] EWHC 2311 (Admin) Foskett J rejected another challenge this time to the decision to put the Newick Neighbourhood Plan to a referendum[2].
....News
Cornerstone on the Planning Court
1st September 2015
Cornerstone on the Planning Court, the definitive guide to the new Planning Court produced by Cornerstone Barristers, is now available to buy online and in book shops.
....News
Estates Gazette: An encouraging start
27th June 2015
Martin Edwards and Clare Parry have written an article on the Planning Court for Estate Gazette's Planning Special supplement
....News
Planning Magazine: The Planning Law Survey 2015
31st May 2015
Cornerstone Barristers is proud to note that 15 members of our Planning Group have achieved rankings in the 2015 Planning Magazine survey of the planning legal profession. James Findlay QC, Mark....News
The Planner - Practical ways to overcome obstacles to planning permission
7th May 2015
Mary Cook, Martin Edwards and Clare Parry feature in The Planner Magazine this month. Click here for the full article.....Case
11th December 2014
The High Court has recently ruled on two aspects of the interpretation of the General Permitted Development Order (GPDO).
....Case
Mid Wales Conjoined Planning Inquiry [2013-14]
30th May 2014
The UK's biggest onshore wind farm public inquiry sat for a year during 2013/14. Wales' longest-ever planning inquiry has been considering proposals for five onshore wind farms and a 132kV....Case
1st May 2014
In a decision that illustrates the risks for local authorities who exercise their emergency powers under s. 78 of the Building Act 1984 to close dangerous premises, the Court of....Case
Challenge To Essex Waste Station Rejected
11th February 2014
Lindblom J has rejected a challenge by Mr and Mrs Hockley to a waste transfer station ("WTS") in Great Dunmow, Essex. The Claimants challenged Essex County Council's ("ECC") decision that no....Case
Section 171B Time Limits Not Incompatible With The EIA Directive
21st November 2013
On the 20th November 2013 the Court of Appeal (Lord Justices Aiken, Sullivan and Patten) dismissed an appeal against the order made by Mr Justice Stadlen in R (oao Peter....Case
Llanishen Reservoir, Cardiff: Western Power Distribution (WPD) Lose Round 3
28th May 2013
WPD's controversial proposals to redevelop this redundant, and now drained, reservoir in the northern suburbs of Cardiff primarily for residential development have been through several iterations. The first proposals were....Case
Ardagh Glass v Chester City Council [2009] EWHC 745
13th May 2013
HHJ Mole QC (sitting as a High Court Judge) mooted the possibility that the time limits for enforcement in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990[1] may be incompatible with....Case
Barratt Homes Ltd V Dwr Cymru Cyfyngedig [2013] EWCA Civ 233 (Court Of Appeal)
24th April 2013
Case involving consideration of the necessary elements of nuisance, and what is capable of constituting nuisance, claims for trespass to goods and negligence, requirements for claims for breach of statutory....Case
5th April 2013
The Court of Appeal, in Barratt Homes v Welsh Water [2013] EWCA Civ 233 last week rejected the Defendant's contentions the law of nuisance necessarily requires there to be an....News
Cornerstone Barristers appointed by Metropolitan Police to panel of Counsel
1st March 2013
Cornerstone Barristers are delighted to announce that the following members have been appointed by the Metropolitan Police to a panel of counsel to represent and advise them in licensing matters. These....News
Cornerstone Barristers appointed by Metropolitan Police to panel of Counsel
1st March 2013
Cornerstone Barristers are delighted to announce that the following members have been appointed by the Metropolitan Police to a panel of counsel to represent and advise them in licensing matters.
....News
Attorney General's Panel Appointments
20th February 2013
Cornerstone Barristers are delighted to announce that Catherine Rowlands and Clare Parry have been appointed to the Attorney General's Panel of Counsel with effect from 1 March 2013. Their appointments....Case
R (On The Application Of Lucchetti) V South Norfolk District Council
14th November 2012
In the case of R (Lucchetti) v South Norfolk DC [2012] EWHC 3557 (Admin) the High Court ruled that the defendant local planning authority had not been entitled to impose....Case
R (on the application of Lucchetti) v South Norfolk District Council
14th November 2012
In the case of R (Lucchetti) v South Norfolk DC [2012] EWHC 3557 (Admin) the High Court ruled that the defendant local planning authority had not been entitled to impose....Case
16th April 2012
This is an important planning case in the High Court concerning the scope of the doctrine of material change of use by intensification, and the proper interpretation of Part 8....Case
Leeds Group Plc v Leeds City Council [2011] EWCA Civ 1447
2nd December 2011
See full text of case.....News
Planning and Local Government issues for Wales
7th September 2009
Planning and Local Government issues for Wales
Monday, September 07, 2009
Chambers was proud to host this essential guide to the latest Planning and Local Government legislative and policy issues affecting Local Authorities at Cardiff City Hall.
....Case
1st January 2009
See full text of case.....Case
1st January 2009
See full text of case....Case
1st January 2009
See full text of case. ....News
Appeal-proof Homelessness Decisions
16th September 2007
Held on 13 September 2007, this is the first in our series of half-day sessions on housing related topics.
....News
Housing Law Update: the essential guide to all the latest changes
5th July 2007
2-3 Gray's Inn Square was pleased to host this extremely successful seminar that was attended by over 110 delegates, primarily from local Councils.
....Case
Training Session for Kent Secretaries
9th March 2007
Training Session for Kent Secretaries
Friday, March 09, 2007
EVENT
Cornerstone Annual Planning Day 2016
7th November 2016
Tickets are now available for the Cornerstone Barristers' Annual Planning Conference aimed at practitioners in the private sector, taking place on 7th November 2016. The day will be hosted by Cornerstone....EVENT
West Midlands Planning Seminar (Public Sector)
26th September 2016
2
Cornerstone Barristers and Birmingham City Council invite you to the West Midlands Planning Law Seminar taking place on Monday 26th September at 43 Temple Row, Birmingham, B2 5LS. Aimed at local....