John Fitzsimons

Planning Inquiries

John regularly acts in planning inquiries both on his own and as a junior for Parish Councils, District Councils and private individuals. His inquiry experience to date includes:

- Representing a Rule 6 party in a two week planning inquiry involving housing land supply, landscape and highways issues.

- Representing a Parish Council in a two week enforcement inquiry involving travellers and gypsies. 

- Assisting Estelle Dehon in a two week planning inquiry involving housing land supply and heritage issues in which Estelle, acting for the local authority, successfully resisted a residential scheme of up to 200 units.

- Being led by Dr Ashley Bowes in a 6 day planning inquiry involving heritage and landscape issues in which he and Dr Bowes successfully resisted the proposed housing scheme, despite the existence of a housing land supply deficit. 

- Representing a local authority in a two day enforcement inquiry involving off-airport parking in which the local authority successfully resisted an appeal on grounds (a) and (d). 

Court Experience

During pupillage, John assisted in various High Court and Court of Appeal cases on environmental law and planning law issues. He has acted as sole counsel in various environmental law matters including:

- Conducting a local authority's first prosecution under the Health Act 2006 in relation to the use of Shisha pipes within an enclosed premises.

- Acting for a defendant in an environmental prosecution concerning waste transfer notes.

His High Court and Court of Appeal experience includes:

Keenan v Woking Borough Council [2017] EWCA Civ 438 (assisting Estelle Dehon as a pupil)

An LPA's failure to respond within the required 28 days to an application under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 ("the GPDO 1995") for a determination as to whether its prior approval would be required, will not allow development which is not "permitted development" to become "permitted development" by default.

Burford v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2017] EWHC 1493 (Admin) (assisting Estelle Dehon as a pupil)

The High Court held that curtilage is not simply a land use, and accordingly that using land as incidental to the enjoyment of a dwelling house is not determinative of that land being curtilage.

Preston New Road Action Group and Gayzer Frackman v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2017] EWHC 808 (Admin) (assisting Estelle Dehon and Marc Willers QC as a pupil)

Challenge in respect of permission granted by the Secretary of State for hydraulic fracturing works to take place in Lancashire.

Advisory Work

John regularly undertakes planning and environmental advisory work. Recent advisory work includes issues concerning:

- Differences between C2 and C3 use

- Allotment land

- Application of s106 planning obligations

- Implementation of a forty year old planning permission

- Enforcement issues and variation of conditions.

- Construction of ambiguous conditions and implied conditions

- Article 3(1) GDPO and its relationship to prior approval consent

- Building Regulations

- Fracking

John also has an excellent understanding of the needs of clients in the environmental and planning sectors, having been seconded to a local authority's planning team during pupillage. He also regularly provides pro bono advice and assistance to the Environmental Law Foundation. 

John has a broad public law and judicial review practice. He has experience in advising both public bodies and private clients in this area. His public law work spans many of Chambers' practice areas including planning and environmental, licensing, inquests and inquiries, local government and data protection. Further details of John's work in these areas of practice can be seen within the 'practice areas' tab on his profile. In brief, John's recent public law experience includes:

- Instructed by the Department of Communities and Local Government as part of the Grenfell Tower public inquiry 'junior junior' team

- Instructed by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in order to consider various legislative amendments required in the context of the new Data Protection Bill

- Acting for a local authority, with Ashley Underwood QC, in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

- Acting for Uber, with Philip Kolvin QC, in Delta Merseyside and Uber Britannia Ltd v Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council [2018] EWHC 757 (Admin) where the Claimants successfully quashed the Council's 'predominant use' policy directed at private hire drivers.  

- Drafting summary grounds of defence in immigration proceedings on behalf of the Home Office. 

- As a pupil, assisting Estelle Dehon at a substantive judicial review in the High Court (R (on the application of Muhammad v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWHC 745 (Admin) concerning unlawful detention. 

John accepts instructions in all areas of licensing law. Some of his experience to date includes:

- Being led by Philip Kolvin QC in the case of Delta Meryside and Uber Britannia Ltd v Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council [2018] EWHC 757 (Admin), in which he and Philip acted for Uber and successfully quashed the Council's 'predominant use' policy directed at private hire drivers.

- Assisting Philip Kolvin QC in drafting written submissions on Article 49 TFEU in the case of Rostrun v Guildford Borough Council [2017] EWHC 3141 (Admin), in which Philip acted for the successful local authority in resisting a taxi driver's appeal.

- Successfully acting for a local authority in defending an appeal against the suspension of a premises licence. 

- Successfully acting for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in resisting an appeal against its revocation of a licence.

- Assisting Philip Kolvin QC with a wide-ranging review of employment practices within the taxi and private hire industry for a well-known private hire company.

John also provides pro bono support and advice to street traders through his membership of Southwark Law Centre's pro bono panel of barristers. In this regard, he is currently advising and assisting traders who are being relocated in the Peckham Rye Station redevelopment and Elephant and Castle shopping centre redevelopment. 

John has a broad range of experience in housing law and property matters.

Court Work

John regularly appears on behalf of landlords in possession claims against tenants and trespassers. His housing experience also extends to drafting proceedings and advising clients on prospects of success, particularly in the context of s204 homelessness appeals. 

John also has experience acting on behalf of landlords in applications for injunctions whether for breach of tenancy agreements or to prohibit anti-social behaviour and also has more general experience in landlord and tenant disputes and housing licensing matters. 

As a pupil, John assisted Dean Underwood and Ranjit Bhose QC in the Court of Appeal case of Southern Housing Group v Ahern [2017] EWCA Civ 1934, which provides useful guidance as to the approach of the county court to public law defences based on alleged breach of policy. 

Advisory Work

John is comfortable advising clients on a wide range of housing issues and has particular experience in drafting advices in the context of homelessness appeals and right to buy applications. His advisory work extends to disrepair claims, non-residential landlord and tenant disputes and claims by leaseholders for breach of covenant. 

John has a particular interest in data protection and information law having sat with information law specialists Estelle Dehon and Philip Coppel QC during pupillage.

As a result, he has been instructed to advise and assist the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on various issues arising in respect of the new Data Protection Bill.

More recently, he was led by Estelle Dehon in a long running damages claim against a public body for alleged breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998.

John's knowledge of information law complements his planning and environmental law practice. As a result, he regularly undertakes advisory work in relation to the Environmental Information Regulations.

John has a particular interest in inquests and inquiries. His experience to date includes:

- Acting for a local authority responsible for various safeguarding matters at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

- Instructed as a 'junior junior' for the Department of Communities and Local Government in relation to the Grenfell Tower public inquiry

- Assisting Estelle Dehon, acting on behalf of a local authority, at a two-day inquest involving the death of a minor under police protection powers.

As a pupil, John gained an insight into local government work following a secondment to a local authority's planning team. He also assisted Philip Coppel QC with a range of local government matters including advisory work in relation to the execution of deeds.

John has particular experience of liability orders for Council Tax and Non-domestic Rates and has successfully acted in set aside applications on behalf of ratepayers.

John is currently acting for a local authority in a high value dispute over allotment land and has been instructed by DCLG as a 'junior junior' for the Grenfell Tower public inquiry. 

John welcomes instructions in regulatory and commercial law.

As a pupil, John assisted in drafting submissions to the Pensions Regulator in response to a Warning Notice. He has also advised clients in relation to insolvency proceedings and has experience in enforcing judgment debts in the County Court.

More recently, he has gained experience of summary judgment and strike out applications in the context of contractual disputes at both County Court and High Court levels.