Dr Alex Williams

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Alex is a seasoned public lawyer with years of high-level academic experience to underpin his practice, which focuses mostly on planning law but also takes in licensing and social housing matters involving a significant public-law element. He has represented clients at all judicial levels including in the Supreme Court and several appearances in the Court of Appeal. He regularly acts unled in High Court matters and at public inquiries.

Legal 500 has ranked Alex as one of a handful of rising stars at the planning Bar. He represents the full range of planning clients but boasts a particularly enviable list of developer clients. He frequently receives instructions from some of the UK’s foremost planning and property consultancies and has acted for high-profile national and international corporate clients including the Vidal Sassoon Group, in relation to its recent plan to open a new world-class training academy in Soho.

Clients value Alex’s analytical ability and forensic approach to the issues as well as his clear and pragmatic strategic advice. He is often instructed to appear unled against more experienced barristers including King’s Counsel.

Prior to coming to the Bar, Alex was a Lecturer in Law and Co-Director of the Human Rights Centre at Durham University, where he specialised in public law and human rights. He has published widely in high-profile academic and practitioner journals and has lectured to expert audiences both in the UK and abroad. He is a contributor to the most recent edition of Cornerstone on the Planning Court (2nd edn, Bloomsbury, 2021) and to the forthcoming edition of Supperstone, Goudie & Walker on Judicial Review (7th edn, LexisNexis, 2023). He is also a contributor to LexisPSL on human rights issues and co-author of a major public-law textbook, Text, Cases and Materials on Public Law and Human Rights (4th edn, Routledge, 2016), which has served as core reading on many undergraduate law courses across England and Wales.

Alex’s academic research and PhD concerned the applicability of judicial review and human rights obligations to non-state actors. His research is particularly relevant to bodies such as housing associations and contracted-out providers of central and local government services who are facing public-law challenge, whether as defendants to a claim or as claimants on the receiving end of a public-law defence. He has advised on the matter both as an academic and as a barrister and welcomes instructions on it. He has acted as a consultant to the Law Commission on its misconduct in public office project.

Alex studied at Cambridge (BA, MA) and Durham (MJur, PhD), receiving several awards for academic and mooting achievement. In addition to his tenured post at Durham University, he has held visiting fellowships at Cambridge University, University College London and UNSW, Sydney.

Expertise

Planning and Environment
Alex is ranked as a rising star in the field (Legal 500, 2024).

He is instructed principally by developers but also by local government and other clients, all of whom benefit from his considerable academic experience as a public lawyer, particularly when involved in judicial review challenges. He is routinely involved in High Court litigation, often as sole counsel. A member of the recently-launched Cornerstone Climate practice group, he has acted for a diverse range of clients in environmental and climate-related matters.

Alex’s cases at High Court level and above include:
- R (Finch) v Surrey County Council (Supreme Court, awaiting judgment; on appeal from [2022] EWCA Civ 187): both at first instance ([2020] EWHC 3566 (Admin)) and on appeal, defended SCC in high-profile JR proceedings concerning whether the EIA process requires the consideration of the environmental effects of downstream greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the refinement and use of crude oil at the Horse Hill Well Site (led by Harriet Townsend).
- R (Widdington) v Uttlesford District Council [2023] EWHC 1709 (Admin): acted as sole counsel for the interested-party developers in a JR concerning fallbacks, heritage issues and the consistency principle.
- R (Llandaff North Residents’ Association) v Cardiff Council [2023] EWHC 1731 (Admin): acted for the Council in a JR concerning EIA matters and the construction of a new sewerage pumping station in Hailey Park (led by Robert Williams).
- Manor Properties (Bishops Stortford) Ltd v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (CO/979/2023): acting for the developer, secured consent to judgment by the Secretary of State on a s.288 TCPA appeal involving an inspector’s appeal decision that failed to mention the tilted balance despite the parties having agreed that there was no 5-year housing land supply.
- R (Blacker) v Chelmsford City Council [2023] EWCA Civ 25: defended the Council in an appeal concerning the principle of consistency between planning decisions, also successfully resisting an application to the Supreme Court for permission to appeal (led by Josef Cannon).
- R (Smith) v Castlepoint Borough Council [2020] EWCA Civ 1420: acted for the claimant in JR proceedings concerning the extent to which local and national policy required the Council to consider intensification of the use and contamination of neighbouring land when granting planning permission for the construction of a new boundary wall at a scrap metal and waste recovery yard (led by Wayne Beglan).
- HJ Banks & Co Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2018] EWHC 3141 (Admin): acted for the third interested party (Save Druridge) in attempting to secure permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal in a s.288 TCPA challenge concerning the lawfulness of the Secretary of State’s decision to refuse permission for a surface coal mine (led by Estelle Dehon).
Alex’s public inquiry and other court work includes:
- Land at Hopkins Reeds, Hatch Lane, Wormley: acted for the Council in relation to a joint LDC and enforcement notice appeal involving the carrying out of engineering operations on the site of a builder’s yard in the Green Belt.
- Nova Equestrian, Glasshouse Lane, Lapworth: acted for the Council in a s.174 TCPA appeal involving unauthorised Green Belt development.
- Lee Farm, Botley Road, Chesham: acting for the Council, resisted an enforcement appeal concerning Green Belt development and Part 1, Class E permitted development rights.
- Suffolk House, Westcliff-on-Sea: acted for the Council in a joint LDC and enforcement notice appeal involving the conversion of a former care home into self-contained apartments.
- 101 Grove Road, South Woodford: on appeal under s.174 TCPA 1990, secured the early withdrawal of an enforcement notice issued in respect of a conversion from C3 to C4 accommodation (the developer relied on permitted development rights, arguing that the material change of use took place before an Art 4 direction issued by the Council took effect).
- 35-41 New Dover Road, Canterbury: acted for the Council in a s.78 TCPA appeal involving a 50-unit Extra Care scheme for older persons.
- Land North and South of Flitch Way, Pods Brook Road, Braintree: acted for the Council in a called-in appeal involving an outline application for up to 1600 residential dwellings, involving wide-ranging issues (led by Emma Dring).
- Visual amenity prosecutions under s.216 TCPA 1990 and proceedings involving planning enforcement orders.
- Magistrates’ and Crown Court highways matters including highway classification, repair, and street works liability.
Alex’s advice and other work includes:
- House of Sassoon, 16-17 Greek Street, Soho: provided legal advice to accompany an application for an LDC in respect of Vidal Sassoon’s proposal to open a world-class new training academy on the former site of the Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design.
- Advising a major hotel group in respect of material changes of use of various properties to C1 use.
- 131 Church Elm Lane, Dagenham: provided legal advice to accompany the developer’s application for an LDC confirming that planning permission for a mixed commercial and 75-unit residential scheme had been validly commenced.
- 217-221 London Road, Camberley: provided legal advice to accompany the developer’s reapplication for prior approval to convert commercial space into 24 new apartments, the Council having refused the earlier application based on a misunderstanding of the scope of Class MA permitted development rights.
- 227-235 Cranbrook Road, Ilford: provided legal advice to accompany the developer’s application for an LDC confirming that planning permission for a mixed retail and 9-unit residential scheme had been validly commenced.
- Advising developers and other clients on a range of matters including minor material and non-material amendments, CIL liability, the implementation of planning permissions including inconsistent permissions, the modification of planning obligations under s.106A TCPA for viability reasons, nutrient neutrality and environmental impact assessment.
- Delivering training, including on planning prosecutions, planning enforcement orders and the role of previous inconsistent decisions in decision-making.
Public Law and Judicial Review
Keen to apply his considerable research expertise in the field to his practice, Alex is regularly instructed on public law and human rights matters across a range of different fields including planning, housing and licensing. He has acted as sole counsel in several judicial reviews and statutory High Court appeals.

Recent experience includes:
- R (Widdington) v Uttlesford District Council [2023] EWHC 1709 (Admin): acted as sole counsel for the interested parties in a JR concerning, among other things, the principle of consistency in decision-making.
- R (Blacker) v Chelmsford City Council [2023] EWCA Civ 25: defended the Council in a JR concerning the public-law principle of consistency and the interpretation of council constitutions, also successfully resisting an application for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court (led by Josef Cannon).
- R (Finch) v Surrey County Council [2022] EWCA Civ 187: defended the Council in a challenge to its decision to grant planning permission for the extraction of crude oil at the Horse Hill Well Site, Horley (led by Harriet Townsend; awaiting judgment from Supreme Court).
- R (Smith) v Castlepoint Borough Council [2020] EWCA Civ 1420: acted for the claimant in a JR against the Council’s decision to grant planning permission for construction at a scrap metal and waste recovery yard (led by Wayne Beglan).
- R (Humber Landlords Association) v Hull City Council [2019] EWHC 332 (Admin): defended the Council in a JR challenge to its decision to revise its policy on private sector housing enforcement (led by Wayne Beglan).
- Acting for local authorities defending homelessness decisions in judicial review proceedings and public-law appeals brought under s.204 of the Housing Act 1996.
- Acting for landlords in possession claims and injunction proceedings involving public-law defences including under the Human Rights Act 1998 and Equality Act 2010.
- Acting for the local planning authority in proceedings concerning the interpretation of the ouster provision in s.171BB(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
- Acting for the Government in civil proceedings concerning the scope of the power to remove untaxed vehicles from the highway.

Alex cross-examines to great effect and his submissions are excellent. His advocacy can’t be faulted.
Legal 500 (2024)

About Alex

Directory quotes
- Planning: ‘Alex cross-examines to great effect and his submissions are excellent. His advocacy can’t be faulted.’ Legal 500 2024
Associations
- Administrative Law Bar Association
- Planning and Environment Bar Association
Books & Journal Publications
- ‘Restrictions on the Availability of Judicial Review’, in Supperstone, Goudie and Walker, Judicial Review (7^th edn, LexisNexis, forthcoming).
- ‘Costs’, in Cornerstone on the Planning Court (2^nd edn, Bloomsbury Professional, 2021), at 153-182 (with James Findlay KC).
- ‘Public Authorities and the HRA 1998: Recent Trends’ [2020] Judicial Review 179-190.
- ‘Planning Enforcement Orders, Time Limits and Self-Certification under the TCPA 1990 s.171BB’ [2020] Journal of Planning & Environment Law 224-230.
- ‘The Pointlessness of Section 6(5) HRA 1998’ [2018] Judicial Review 128-144.
- ‘Judicial Review and Monopoly Power: Some Sceptical Thoughts’ (2017) Law Quarterly Review 656-682.
- ‘Public Authorities and the HRA 1998: Recent Trends’ [2017] Judicial Review 247-262.
- ‘Public Functions and Amenability: Recent Trends’ [2017] Judicial Review 15-26.
- Text, Cases and Materials on Public Law and Human Rights (4^th edn, Routledge, 2016) (with Helen Fenwick and Gavin Phillipson).
- ‘The British Bill of Rights Debate: Lessons from Australia’ [2016] Public Law 471 (with George Williams).
- ‘Strasbourg’s Public-Private Divide and the British Bill of Rights’ [2015] European Human Rights Law Review 617-630.
- ‘Public and Private: Neither Deep Nor Meaningful?’, in Kit Barker and Darryn Jensen (eds), Private Law: Key Encounters with Public Law (Cambridge University Press, 2013), at 45-88 (with William Lucy).
- ‘Horizontal Effect and the Constitutional Constraint’ (2011) 74 Modern Law Review 878-910 (with Gavin Phillipson).
- ‘Public Authorities: What is a Hybrid Public Authority?’, in David Hoffman (ed.), The Impact of the UK Human Rights Act on Private Law (Cambridge University Press, 2011), at 48-65.
- ‘A Fresh Perspective on Hybrid Public Authorities under the Human Rights Act 1998: Private Contractors, Rights-Stripping and “Chameleonic” Horizontal Effect’ [2011] Public Law 139-163.
- ‘YL v Birmingham City Council: Contracting Out and Functions of a Public Nature’ [2008] European Human Rights Law Review 524-531.
Other Publications
Notable Cases