020 7242 4986 or 0333 240 0591 London | Birmingham | Cardiff
Josef's practice at the Bar focuses on licensing, town and country planning, regulatory work and property including landlord and tenant. He is co-chair of the Cornerstone licensing team.
He acts for and advises a wide range of local authorities, the licensed trade, developers, regulatory bodies, landlords and private individuals. He is also an accredited mediator, with particular expertise in mediating disputes in the public sector, particularly where they relate to planning or licensing.
Legal 500 2021
Josef's practice at the Bar focuses on licensing, town and country planning, regulatory work and property including social housing.
He acts for and advises a wide range of local authorities, the licensed trade, private and social landlords, developers, regulatory bodies and private individuals.
Josef Cannon is a graduate of Kings College, London, and was called to the Bar by Lincolns Inn in 2002.
For Licensing, he is recognised as a leading junior in both the Legal 500 2015 and Chambers & Partners 2015, described in the former as "the instructing solicitor's dream counsel" and by Chambers as "very approachable and gets results...an impressive advocate".
In Planning the Legal 500 recognises him as a leading junior and describes him as "extremely knowledgeable and able to think on his feet". He has particular experience in residential development and housing land supply issues.
Josef also has experience of regulatory work (including significant experience prosecuting and defending environmental matters) and continues to be instructed by residential landlords in all aspects of social housing and homelessness law.
Licensing - "Excellent, thoughtful manner in front of committees. Stays calm and make key points well." Legal 500 2021
Josef is ranked in Planning with Legal 500.
"This was an important case for us, and we have a highly satisfactory outcome. Our thanks go to Josef, instructed by Vanessa Blane at LGSS Law, who provided clear, timely, and expert advice that gave us the confidence to proceed" - Paul Bland BA (Hons) MRTPI, Head of Planning Services, East Northamptonshire Council
"Anyone needing a barrister in any of these fields (planning and licensing) need look no further. First-class barrister in first-class Chambers!" - Client
Licensing - "He is comfortable either advocating or opposing applications." "He has a gift for summarising the key determining issues with calm courtesy, ordering the issues in a logical sequence. His judgement is both firm and practical." Chambers and Partners 2022
Planning - "Joe's knowledge of planning law, his calm professional manner and his ability to immediately grasp the point make him stand out." "He is highly personable and very popular with clients." Chambers and Partners 2022
Licensing - "Excellent, thoughtful manner in front of committees. Stays calm and make key points well." Legal 500 2022
Planning - "He's a real people person – very approachable and easy to work with, with a good sense of humour, and very popular with clients. He makes you feel like part of the team when cases are in court. He has an inclusive approach which is really appreciated. He is persuasive without being unnecessarily adversarial." Legal 500 2022
Licensing - "Handles a diverse array of work including judicial reviews, local authority prosecutions and events licence applications. His recent significant cases include those concerning serious taxi licensing revocations and appeals. Cannon primarily acts for councils and public bodies and is admired for his personable advocacy style. Strengths: "He is very efficient and effective and he pays attention and understands the client."
Planning - "A well-regarded junior with a strong inquiries practice. He is regularly instructed in cases regarding housing schemes and developments in the Green Belt. Strengths: "He has a very commercial mindset. He naturally thinks about the client's objective and helps to strategise." "He is efficient and easy to deal with." Chambers and Partners 2021
"Josef has great charisma and a wonderful style that proves very persuasive with committees." "He is a rising star in licensing and is comfortable either promoting or opposing applications." Chambers and Partners 2020
"Goes beyond what is required for the client - you can be assured of an excellent service". The Legal 500 2020
"He has an acute legal and forensic mind". The Legal 500 2020
"Mr Cannon is very approachable and has a relaxed attitude when talking to clients, which helps settle them in court." "A barrister who never gives up and is very tenacious, he adapts according to which tribunal he is in front of. He is very persuasive and people want to listen to him." Chambers and Partners 2019
"Excellent command of the subject area in his advocacy." The Legal 500 2018
"Bright, hardworking and highly effective." The Legal 500 2018
"He gives no-nonsense, practical advice, he bears in mind the economics of the situation, he's very good with clients, and he's always prepared to go the extra mile." Chambers & Partners 2018
"He's very personable, he's incredibly likeable, and the court warms to him. Whatever he does is effective." Chambers & Partners 2018
"He has a calm demeanour and commands clients' full confidence." Legal 500 2017
"Good on his feet." Legal 500 2017
"He is an extremely effective cross-examiner." Chambers & Partners 2017
"He always provides a first-class service. He has the local knowledge, is politically aware and adds value." Chambers & Partners 2017
"Always very well prepared, but able to think on his feet should an unexpected or difficult issue arise." Legal 500 2016
"He is empathetic with clients and operators." Legal 500 2016
"He is very personable and pitches his case at the appropriate level." "He is good in front of both committees and courts."Chambers & Partners 2016
"He is extremely knowledgeable and able to think on his feet." Legal 500 2015
"Always goes the extra mile, and is the instructing solicitors' dream counsel." Legal 500 2015
Josef can provide advice, assistance and representation to businesses, to local groups and to members of the public in planning matters, in particular concerning enforcement notices, making representations about planning applications near your property, and dealing with defending prosecutions for planning offences.
Josef can provide advice, assistance and representation to businesses, to local groups and to members of the public in licensing matters, covering alcohol and regulated entertainment (pubs, bars etc), sex licensing (lapdancing clubs, sex shops etc) and taxi licensing.
He has worked in the field of licensing for eight years and have represented many different clients, from local authorities through to nighclub operators, from residents of a street disturbed by a proposed club to Trading Standards and the Police. He brings a wealth of practical experience to his role and always tries to help clients find a solution which they are happy with - whether or not that means going to court (and often it does not!). He is often available at relatively short notice and always happy to travel anywhere in the country should it be required. Josef also knows that licensing often takes place out of 'normal' office hours and he is always flexible about when he is needed.
Much of Josef's practice in the areas of licensing, planning, housing and judicial review involve questions of public law. He appears in courts of all levels litigating public law matters and advises on a broad range of public law questions and advises and represents both claimants and respondents in judicial review cases, particularly involving local authorities, and where the subject matter is related to his core areas of practice. Often his practice brings together questions of both public and private law and the breadth of his practice means he is in a good position to accommodate that requirement.
Josef retains a busy civil practice, covering most aspects of civil litigation from contractual disputes through employment matters to injunctions, arbitrations and boundary disputes.
Arbitration & mediation
Josef is experienced in arbitration, having advised in a number of cases and recently appeared as junior in a multi-million pound commercial arbitration involving a local authority.
Land and property disputes
Although the majority of Josef's experience in respect of land and property is either housing-related or planning related, he also has experience of advising and representing parties in property disputes including issues over boundaries and rights of way. he is regularly instructed in the First Tier and Upper Tribunals.
Regulatory law
Josef has acted in a large number of appeals against Abatement Notices under the Environmental Protection Act 1990; he also prosecutes and defends in the magistrates and crown courts, often in cases involving public authorities. He also appears regularly in planning and licensing matters for and against local authorities in the criminal courts. He has conducted inquests on health and safety matters. He appeared (successfully) in Wandsworth LBC v Rashid [2009] EWHC 1844 (Admin), concerning the local authority's waste enforcement policy and abuse of process.
1st July 2019
Josef and John have published a new article on the Journal of Licensing, Public nuisance in licensing.
The article seeks to provide a background to the law of public nuisance, both in its wider context and within the context of licensing. It seeks to assist decision-makers and applicants to understand how best to approach public nuisance issues in a licensing context. In doing so, it will also examine the more recent arrival of the agent of change principle in the planning context and consider how this and other matters may affect licensing in the future.
The article can be purchased on the Journal of Licensing website.
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.
30th June 2013
Contributor to Licensed Premises: Law & Practice (Bloomsbury, 2013), a highly practical guide to the licensed industry. It clearly explains, through the use of case studies, practical tools and strategic policy advice, how the licensing regime, allied to other statutory and voluntary schemes, can be used to develop a more sustainable, diverse leisure economy.
Click here for further information.
1st September 2010
Contributor to "Gambling for Local Authorities: Licensing, Planning & Regeneration" (2nd edition), which charts the terrain of gambling law simply and succinctly for both licensing and planning professionals.
The second edition includes important new material:
* Commentary on major issues, including split premises, skills with prize machines and house prize competitions.
* New regulatory material, including up-dated regulations, Guidance and Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice.
* New case law, including on provisional statements, appeals, costs and bias.
* New text on Planning Policy Statement 4 and the Community Infrastructure Levy.
* A new chapter on problem gambling by Professor Mark Griffiths.
* New tables and figures to explain and simplify the law.
Click here for further information.
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
Josef is an experienced and effective trainer. He regularly travels across the country training councillors, licensing officers and other lawyers on the licensing environment (including the sex entertainment venue licensing and taxi regimes). Between 2010 and 2012 he co-ordinated and delivered the Certificate of Licensing Law course at the University of Westminster.
He can provide tailored training sessions, from large scale seminars to practical workshops.
News: Planning and Environment
Josef Cannon begins a planning inquiry into a proposal for 450 new homes at Fiddington
1st February 2022
Today, Josef Cannon begins a planning inquiry into a proposal for 450 new homes at Fiddington, near Tewkesbury, against Paul Tucker QC and Philip Robson. Joe represents the local planning authority....Case: Planning and Environment, Housing
"Grasping the Nettle": how far into the thicket do you have to reach?
8th December 2021
The High Court has confirmed that the requirement to 'grasp the intellectual nettle' of a previous, inconsistent planning decision does not extend to 'minded to' positions reached as part of....Case: Licensing
Divisional Court clarifies rules relating to private hire vehicle operators in London
6th December 2021
The Divisional Court today handed down judgment in Uber London Limited v TfL and others. Uber brought a claim for a declaration as to the true meaning of the provisions....Case: Planning and Environment
19th October 2021
In January 2021 a Planning Inspector granted outline planning permission for 50 new homes at the edge of a village in Tewkesbury borough. She did so on the basis that....News: Planning and Environment
Cornerstone Planning Day 2021 - Tickets available
20th September 2021
The Cornerstone Planning Team is delighted to host its annual planning conference on Monday 8 November at Royal College of Surgeons of England. Aimed at planning specialists, solicitors, and policy makers, this....News: Planning and Environment, Local Government, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Mediation and planning: Here to stay?
26th July 2021
Introduction Mediation is a way of resolving disputes and building consensus with the help of a neutral third party. It tends to be quicker, cheaper and more flexible than litigation, and....News:
Peering into the misty future: The annual Now & Next seminars with the IoL
21st May 2021
On 18 and 20 May 2021 the Cornerstone Barristers Licensing Team, headed by Asitha Ranatunga and Josef Cannon, delivered their annual Now & Next series of webinars in conjunction with....News: Planning and Environment
Cornerstone Quarterly Development - Special Edition
13th August 2020
Last week, the Government published the long-awaited White Paper Planning for the Future. In this special edition of the Cornerstone Quarterly Development, the Cornerstone Planning Team presents analysis and comment covering some of....News: Public Law and Judicial Review, Planning and Environment, Housing, Licensing, Information Law, Court of Protection, Health and Social Care, Local Government
NEW BRIEFING - Local authorities post COVID-19. All you need to know
1st July 2020
Local authorities have been instrumental in tackling the COVID-19 crisis and will play a pivotal role in the post-lockdown recovery. As a result, they are experiencing a surge in duties....News: Licensing, Information Law
Contact tracing for licensed premises: what you need to know
25th June 2020
On Tuesday 23 June, the Prime Minister announced that the Government intends to 'unlock' significant aspects of the lockdown with effect from 4 July 2020. Among the business allowed to re-open....Case: Planning and Environment
The NPPF definition of ‘deliverable’ is not a closed list
18th June 2020
In a development which is likely to have major implications for the way in which local planning authorities go about calculating their five-year supply of housing land, the Secretary of....News: Planning and Environment
Housing Land Supply in the time of coronavirus
6th May 2020
ByJosef Cannon We are all trying to deal with new anxieties at the moment: can I function working from home with just one computer screen? Does the aesthetically pleasing but orthopaedically-harmful....News: Planning and Environment
Planning enforcement during the lockdown – is mediation the solution?
4th May 2020
Due to the current Coronavirus lockdown, PINS has postponed all hearings and inquiries indefinitely. It isn't clear when they will be rescheduled, and even after lockdown ends, social distancing rules....News: Planning and Environment
Planning Law Survey 2020 – Barristers at Cornerstone among the "most-admired"
30th March 2020
Several members of the Cornerstone Planning Team have been recognised in Planning Magazine's Planning Law Survey 2020. The annual survey reflects the views of over 200 solicitors, consultants, developers and council....News: Public Law and Judicial Review
Crown Prosecution Service drops prosecutions against Extinction Rebellion protesters
28th November 2019
R (Jones and others) v The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police [2019] EWHC 2957 (Admin)
....Case: Public Law and Judicial Review, Planning and Environment
Court of Appeal uphold Maldon’s approach to a previous planning permission
23rd July 2019
Angus Bates v Maldon DC [2019] EWCA Civ 1272
....News: Planning and Environment, Licensing
New article: Journal of Licensing, Public nuisance in licensing
1st July 2019
Josef and John have published a new article on the Journal of Licensing, Public nuisance in licensing. The article seeks to provide a background to the law of public nuisance, both....News: Planning and Environment, Housing
Planning for new homes - the National Audit Office report
8th February 2019
Today the National Audit Office (NAO) published its report to MoHoCoLoGo, entitled Planning for new homes. It is an interesting review of the present state of things in the world....News: Planning and Environment
NPPF2: A new planning rulebook, or more of the same?
25th July 2018
Yesterday, on the last day of the parliamentary term, the Government published a raft of new measures. For planners, the most significant were the new National Planning Policy Framework and associated....News: Planning and Environment, Licensing
For the Birds? The Habitats Regulations and the Licensing of Outdoor Festivals
24th May 2018
By Josef Cannon In a recent article in the Journal of Licensing, two experienced planning/licensing barristers published an interesting article on the potential application of the Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43/EEC) and....News: Planning and Environment, Licensing
21st May 2018
By Josef Cannon The Cornerstone team has as usual been busy across the leisure sector since the last newsletter. As Ben du Feu's round-up below indicates, our barristers have been instructed....News: Licensing
Joe speaking at the Institute of Licensing
9th March 2018
Following his recent qualification as a mediator, in March Joe will be speaking to three regional meetings of the Institute of Licensing (IoL) about the benefits and potential for mediation....Case: Planning and Environment
Common sense approach to the ‘tilted balance’, as the sun begins to set on paragraphs 14 and 49
7th March 2018
In a welcome injection of common sense into the rumbling controversy about when, and how, the 'tilted balance' in paragraph 14 of the NPPF might apply, an Inspector in Chelmsford....News: Licensing
Cornerstone Barristers appointed to the Gambling Commission’s panel
14th February 2018
Cornerstone Barristers has been appointed to the Gambling Commission's standing panel of barristers' chambers to provide legal advice and representation for an initial period of three years. The team will be....News: Planning and Environment, Licensing
Music venues and their neighbours: Government’s plans to strike the right balance
18th January 2018
Introduction The Government has today announced plans to ensure that housing developers building new homes near music venues should be responsible for addressing noise issues, in a move to protect both....News: Licensing
Betting industry bracing over new government consultation on gambling
31st October 2017
Betting industry bracing over new government consultation on gambling
....Case: Licensing
First s.53D interim steps appeal dismissed
6th June 2017
Bedford Borough Council have successfully resisted what is thought to be the first appeal under s.53D of the Licensing Act 2003, against a decision that an interim step of suspension....News: Planning and Environment, Property, Licensing
Cornerstone Leisure Newsletter May 2017
24th May 2017
The Cornerstone Leisure Newsletter includes... Editor's Note - Josef Cannon Leisure development in the Green Belt – not all fun and games? - Martin Edwards Licensing Uber: Better the devil you know?....Case: Licensing
Is this the first Interim Steps appeal under the new s.53D?
11th May 2017
On 6 April 2017 the new s.53D of the Licensing Act 2003 came in to force. Intended to bring an end to the long-running debate about what happens to interim....News: Public Law and Judicial Review, Planning and Environment, Housing, Property, Licensing, Commercial and Regulatory
Cornerstone Leisure Newsletter February 2017
23rd February 2017
The Cornerstone Leisure Newsletter includes...Case: Property, Licensing
22nd November 2016
The world-famous nightclub Fabric is once again to open its doors. The club was closed in September by Islington Council, as a result of deaths from drug overdoses at the club,....Case: Public Law and Judicial Review, Planning and Environment
31st August 2016
Last week the Secretary of State published his decisions in respect of two appeals against refusals of planning permission for extensive housing development in the countryside beyond the Green Belt....Case: Public Law and Judicial Review
Licensing Act 2003 appeals: is JR available if time is short?
29th July 2016
Can judicial review be used to get a quicker decision than appealing to the Magistrates' Court in a Licencing Act 2003 case?
What are the obligations on a sub-committee in terms of reading supporting documentation?
....Case: Planning and Environment
11th July 2016
The Upper Tribunal has upheld the right of residents of a small architect-designed development built in the late 1980s and subject to restrictive covenants seeking to preserve its built form to rely on those covenants in resisting plans by one resident to extend her house.
....Case: Licensing
Step Changes Proposed to Summary Reviews
24th February 2016
Rory Clarke and Josef Cannon consider the implications of the recently proposed changes to the Summary Review procedure in the Licensing Act 2003.
....News: Public Law and Judicial Review, Housing
Cornerstone Housing Newsletter - February 2016
1st February 2016
The latest Cornerstone Housing newsletter includes:News: Public Law and Judicial Review, Planning and Environment
Housing crisis at centre of proposed changes to NPPF
10th December 2015
Josef Cannon considers the proposals set out in the Government's recently published consultation document on the National Planning Policy Framework. Introduced with minimal fanfare (save for in the Daily Telegraph, which called....News: Planning and Environment
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.
....Case: Licensing
11th April 2014
Star Oyster Ltd and The Casino Ltd -v- Guildford Borough Council The proper approach to minor variations to premises licences under section 41A and 41B of the Licensing Act 2003 was....Case: Licensing
Lap dance no more: Courts affirm wide powers to refuse renewals
27th March 2014
R (Bean Leisure Trading A Limited) v Leeds City Council and R (Ruby May (1) Ltd) v Leeds City Council [2014] EWHC 878 (Admin) Thompson v Oxford City Council [2014] ...
....Case:
"Copper's Nose" gets double punch from Cornerstone Barristers
24th September 2013
Ipswich police faced an uphill task when they appealed the decision of Ipswich Borough Council to allow an extension of hours to the premises licence of one of the town's principal night time venues, Revolution.
....Case: Licensing
19th March 2013
novemberoctoberseptemberaugustjulyjunemayaprilmarchfebruaryjanuary In a judgment that will be of great assistance to licensing authorities, a judge of the High Court dismissed an application for judicial review against a refusal to grant a....News: Licensing
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....Josef Cannon begins a planning inquiry into a proposal for 450 new homes at Fiddington
1st February 2022
Today, Josef Cannon begins a planning inquiry into a proposal for 450 new homes at Fiddington, near Tewkesbury, against Paul Tucker QC and Philip Robson. Joe represents the local planning authority....Divisional Court clarifies rules relating to private hire vehicle operators in London
6th December 2021
The Divisional Court today handed down judgment in Uber London Limited v TfL and others. Uber brought a claim for a declaration as to the true meaning of the provisions....020 7242 4986 or 0333 240 0591
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