Planning Day 2026
Speakers
Michael Bedford KC, Richard Ground KC, Estelle Dehon OBE KC, Robert Williams KC, Clare Parry, Ben Du Feu, Rowan Clapp, Jack Barber, Jemima Lovatt, Lois Lane and Hannah TaylorVenue
The Royal College of Surgeons of England, 35-43 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3PEFee
From £180 + VAT
Save the date for the return of Cornerstone Barristers’ flagship Planning Day, on Monday 23 November 2026.
Designed for planning specialists, solicitors, consultants and policymakers, Planning Day is one of the leading events in the planning and environmental law calendar. Join us for a day of expert legal insight, thought-provoking discussion and analysis of the latest developments shaping the planning landscape.
Whether you advise developers, local authorities, public bodies or private clients, Planning Day 2026 promises practical guidance, expert perspectives and valuable networking opportunities.
What to expect
At Planning Day 2026, we’ll be covering a range of topics, including:
- The City of London Plan, focusing on an overview of the plan, optimising land use, creating a greener, healthier and more resilient London and understanding effective approaches for Planning Law for Good Growth.
- A session on “Planning for Climate Change”
- The new National Planning Policy Framework and its impact on Planning Law.
- The implications of Local Government Re-Organisation, devolution and spatial development strategies for plan-making and development management.
- An analysis of the Key Appeal Decisions of the past 12 months and how they impact both current and future practices, plus the Key Court Cases of the past 12 months.
- Guidance as to how to avoid legal challenges in development processes and strategies for obtaining development consent.
Get your discounted tickets now
Early Bird tickets are now available at £180 + VAT until 1st October 2026, after which the Standard ticket will cost £200 + VAT. A full programme will be published shortly.
Group bookings discount – five or more
If you’re booking for a group of five or more people, we are delighted to offer a 20% discount on your booking. Please email our events team for further information before purchasing your tickets.
Learn from the best
Recommended by both Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500, Cornerstone Barristers is a leading set for planning and environmental work, with barristers regularly appearing at all levels of court in the most significant planning cases of the day. The conference will feature expert speakers sharing practical insights on the hottest topics in planning and environmental law.
Following the conference, join us for a networking drinks reception – a perfect opportunity to continue the conversation, exchange ideas with our barristers and network with fellow planning professionals in a relaxed setting.
Don’t miss your chance to secure one of our limited Super Early Bird tickets before they’re gone.
- Programme
09:15 – 10:00 am
Registration and Refreshments
10:00 am
Welcome from Josef Cannon KC and Robert Williams KC
10:10 am
Graham Stallwood
10:40 am
Key Appeal Decisions of the past 12 months
With Richard Ground KC and Jack Barber
Previous appeal decisions are capable of being material considerations and provide a window onto how the Secretary of State and her inspectors approach main issues in practice. In this session, Richard Ground KC and Jack Barber will survey some of the key themes arising from some of the most significant appeal decisions of the past year before looking ahead to the brave new world under the new Framework.
11:10 am
Coffee and Refreshments
11:40 am
The new NPPF: The Big Changes
With Clare Parry and Jemima Lovatt
The government gave us a summer surprise in the August publication of the new NPPF. This session will look at the big trends of the new Framework, including station led growth, spatial development strategies, and materially inconsistent development plan policies.
12:10 pm
The Draft London Plan: The Challenges of Good Growth
With Ben Du Feu
The Draft London Plan sets out an ambitious vision for accommodating London’s future growth, with greater optimisation of brownfield land, higher densities, and targeted release of Green Belt land.
Rather than providing a policy-by-policy overview, the session will consider the bigger question at the heart of the Plan: how can London deliver the growth it needs while ensuring that growth is sustainable, well-designed, supported by the necessary infrastructure and genuinely “good”?
12:40 pm
Lunch
13:40 pm
The implications of the new NPPF, devolution, and spatial planning for plan-making under the legacy system and for development management decisions before and after adoption
With Michael Bedford KC and Jackson Sirica
This presentation will explore: The new NPPF’s transitional arrangements; The new NPPF and the question of ‘material inconsistency’ for legacy plans; How devolution and spatial planning impact on legacy plan-making; How development management decisions should be made before and after adoption of legacy plans.’
14:00 pm
Avoiding legal challenges to development consent
With Robert Williams KC and Lois Lane
As part of its push to increase housing and infrastructure delivery over the past two years, the Government has made a number of policy and procedural changes designed to speed up the process of obtaining consent, reduce the number of meritless legal challenges facing the courts, and accelerate the process of determining claims. Changes affecting judicial reviews of major infrastructure projects may yet be expanded to planning consents for other types of project, but the jury is still out on whether these changes will reduce the number of claims lodged or the time taken to determine them.
In the meantime, what can applicants seeking development consent (or local planning authorities looking to grant permission) do to insulate themselves from legal challenge?
In this session, we’ll be covering: Lessons learnt from recent trends in judicial reviews of planning decisions; The impact of recent and proposed procedural changes to planning judicial review; Our top tips for reducing legal risk to consents and speeding up delivery.
14:30 pm
Afternoon Refreshment break
15:00 pm
Planning for Climate Change
With Estelle Dehon OBE KC and Hannah Taylor
This session will cover developments in climate change from the international to the hyperlocal – from the ICJ Advisory Opinion to the new NPPF, and everything in between.
15:30 pm
Key Court Cases of the past 12 months
With Rowan Clapp and Deia Russell-Smith
An overview of the most important case law developments from the past 12 months, covering CG Fry v SSHCLG, Epping Forest DC v Somani Hotels, and Titchfield Festival Theatre v SSHCLG and more.
16:00 pm
Panel Q&A followed by networking reception
We look forward to welcoming you to our event.
Timings, content and speakers are subject to change
