Partners
Elizabeth Christie
Solicitor elizabeth.christie@townlegal.com 07931 870 569 | 0203 893 0380Elizabeth spent nine years at Herbert Smith Freehills before becoming one of Town’s founding partners.
Elizabeth has particular experience of development projects in Central London, heritage issues and major regeneration schemes.
Experience:
22 Bishopsgate Limited Partnership
22 Bishopsgate
Lendlease and London & Continental Railways
International Quarter, Stratford City
British Land
Broadgate Estate
Imperial College
Perfume Factory, North Acton
Francis Crick Institute
Francis Crick Institute
Danescroft Land
Clock House and Access House, Bromley-by-Bow
Brockton Capital
Post Building, Camden
Market Tech Holdings
Hawley Wharf, Camden Lock Market, Stables Market
Mary Cook
Barrister mary.cook@townlegal.com 07909 964 015 | 0203 893 0381Mary is a leading planning barrister, and prior to Town was a member of Cornerstone Barristers where she served as Joint Head of Chambers. She is one of Town’s founding partners.
Experience:
Compulsory Purchase: Advising Southwark on the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre redevelopment. Advising Carmarthenshire County Council on road/footway and cycle schemes.
Housing and Mixed Use Schemes: Town have acted on appeals for Bellway in Buckingham; for A2 Dominion at Siege Cross, West Berkshire; at Forest Farm at Chippenham and Manor Farm in Guildford Borough for Gleeson Strategic Land. She has secured consent on appeal for a residential scheme in the AONB in Chipping Camden and for a mixed use scheme in Richmond upon Thames (for Goldcrest).
Retirement and Care Homes: Acting and advising Churchill Retirement Living, Carebase and Elysian Residences.
Strategic land advice to various pension funds (at Fort Halstead) and landowners (in the Green Belt in Surrey and Essex with commercial and residential aspirations) and housebuilders with options at local examination stage.
Schools and Colleges: Advising two establishments on their development plan involving MOL in Camden and Haringey and one language school.
Hotels: Currently advising on three hotel projects in London at various stages in the development pipeline including a proposed Hoxton Hotel being challenged by way of judicial review.
Clare Fielding
Solicitor clare.fielding@townlegal.com 07809 200 214 | 0203 893 0382Clare spent eight years at the Bank of England, seven at Slaughter and May (where she qualified as a solicitor), seven at Herbert Smith; and four at Gowling WLG before becoming one of Town’s founding partners. She has a wide-ranging planning practice, focused in the main on major development projects in London and the South East, acting for private sector developers and landowners.
Experience:
Battersea Power Development Company
Redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, LB Wandsworth
Sellar
Shard Place and Canada Water regeneration, LB Southwark
Derwent London
White Collar Factory, LB Islington
St James
White City Living and Centre House, White City, LBHF
Greenwich Hospital
Redevelopment of Greenwich Market, RB Greenwich
Minerva plc
St Botolphs and the Minerva Building (Cannon Street), City of London
Stanhope/Schroders JV
Croydon Gateway CPO inquiry, LB Croydon
Arsenal Football Club
Emirates Stadium and associated regeneration, LB Islington
Raj Gupta
Solicitor raj.gupta@townlegal.com 07920 702459 | 020 3893 0400Raj specialises in all aspects of compulsory purchase law and is particularly well-known for his expertise advising on land compensation law on infrastructure consenting. Before joining Town, Raj led Pinsent Mason’s compulsory purchase team for three years having previously spent ten years at Eversheds. Raj is an elected member of national committee the Compulsory Purchase Association.
Experience:
Claims against HS2
Including for Freightliner, IM Group, Canfield, Curzon Park, Booker Group and Grinsaem
Crossrail
Acting for Crossrail on numerous compensation claims before the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber)
London Development Agency/Greater London Authority
Promoting the Olympics CPO and acting on compensation claims
Transport for London
Advising on securing and implementing powers for various projects including the East London Line Extension and the Silvertown Tunnel and on landmark compensation claims including Spirerose and Urban Edge
Meeta Kaur
Solicitor meeta.kaur@townlegal.com 07894 172 547 | 0203 893 0383Meeta is a qualified lawyer and chartered town planner. She specialises in large scale mixed-use redevelopment and regeneration schemes, including urban extensions, in London and across England. She advises on all aspects of planning and associated areas and issues, such as highways, compulsory purchase, CIL, heritage, affordable housing and scheme viability, on both the contentious and non-contentious side. Before Town, Meeta spent 12 years at King & Wood Mallesons (previously SJ Berwin) and before that was a senior planning officer at Westminster City Council.
Experience:
Quintain
Regeneration of Wembley and revised masterplan for Wembley
Park.
Hutchison Whampoa
Redevelopment of Convoy’s Wharf in Lewisham.
British Land
Clarges Estate in Mayfair, Putney
High Street in Putney, Blossom
Street in Shoreditch and Eden Walk in Kingston.
St William Homes
Proposed redevelopment of Fulham Gasworks.
Meyer Bergman
Retail-led redevelopment of Vinopolis.
Commercial Estates Group
Sustainable urban extension north east of Leicester.
Eco Bos Developments
Proposed eco-community at Carclaze in Cornwall.
Northants
Wellingborough North urban extension.
Simon Ricketts
Solicitor simon.ricketts@townlegal.com 07711 924 945 | 0203 893 0384Simon specialises in planning, compulsory purchase and related public law issues in relation to major mixed-use development schemes across England. Before co-founding Town he was head of planning and environmental law first at SJ Berwin and then King & Wood Mallesons. He has been ranked as the country’s most highly rated planning solicitor for the last eight years running in Planning magazine’s annual survey. He is author of the Simonicity planning law blog.
Experience:
British Land
Blossom Street, Shoreditch
Lands Improvement Holdings
Houghton Regis urban extension
Quintain
Wembley regeneration
Fawley Waterside
Former Fawley power station site development, Hampshire
Richborough Estates
Suffolk Coastal Supreme Court proceedings
The Collective
Old Oak co-living
Mount Anvil
Whitechapel Central
Capital and Regional
Walthamstow town centre
London Eye
London Eye retention
Patrick Robinson
Solicitor patrick.robinson@townlegal.com 07785 254 981 | 0203 893 0385Patrick spent thirty-eight years at Herbert Smith Freehills before becoming one of Town’s founding partners. He is the firm’s Managing Partner, and continues to practise across all areas of contentious and non-contentious planning work. He brings to the subject the broader experience of a development real estate lawyer’s background.
Experience:
22 Bishopsgate Limited Partnership
22 Bishopsgate
Elizabeth House Limited Partnership
Elizabeth House
Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust
Royal Brompton Hospital
Parkhurst Road Limited
Parkhurst Road
British Land
Broadgate
Carlyle Group
Sampson House and Ludgate House
Trustees of the Tate Gallery
Tate Modern
Aermont Capital
No 1 Poultry
Consultants
Martin Dawbney
Consultant martin.dawbney@townlegal.com 07785 775044 | 020 3893 0399Martin is a consultant specialising in business rates law, having spent over 30 years at Herbert Smith (latterly Herbert Smith Freehills) as a property lawyer with an ancillary rating practice. His work ranges from day-to-day advice on rates mitigation schemes and completion notices to running complex cases before the Lands Tribunal for England (VTE) and the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). He has particular expertise in the issues arising from the Supreme Court decision in Woolway v Mazars.
Experience:
Eurotunnel
Establishing a rateable value for the (UK section of the) Channel Tunnel
Harrods
Acting on tribunal cases in respect of the 2000 and 2005 lists
Selfridges
Acting on a tribunal case in respect of the 2000 list
Time Inc. (UK) Ltd
Advising on a judicial review in the light of retrospective liability imposed under the 2010 list in the light of the Mazars decision
Native Land
Advising on the use of a Guardian arrangement to mitigate rates liability in respect of a commercial building awaiting demolition and redevelopment, including acting on the case before the VTE
Marsh Corporate Services
Acting on a case before the Valuation Tribunal, where it was decided that two separate office blocks should be assessed as one due to mutuality of purpose.
Associates
Amy Bennett
amy.bennett@townlegal.com 0203 893 0394Since qualifying in 2016, Amy has worked for a variety of clients, including local councils, developers and funders. Her experience includes work on compulsory purchase matters, carrying out due diligence, legal analysis of planning applications, and drafting and negotiating planning and highways agreements
Experience:
Dover District Council
A CPO compensation claim in respect of a compulsory purchase order enabling the regeneration of the centre of Dover.
Shepherds Bush
Assisting with advising a developer on process and procedure in relation to a CPO compensation claim
Sainsburys
Assisting with various planning matters advising Sainsbury’s, specifically drafting and negotiating highways agreements relating to development of their stores.
London Mutual Insurance Society
Providing advice and legal analysis of a planning application for an office and residential redevelopment in London
Grafton Group PLC
Successfully opposing the CPO for its site at Orchard Wharf, east London.
Threadneedle UK Property Authorised Investment Fund
Provided the legal due diligence on the planning aspects of several purchases.
Nicky Bradbury
nicky.bradbury@townlegal.com 07958 629 649Nicky worked at Linklaters, London Borough of Southwark and Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co before joining Town. Nicky has considerable planning, highways, compulsory purchase and judicial review experience and has worked in both private practice and local government.
Experience:
Sellar Design + Development
Advising on their proposals for Sites C and E Canada Water comprising 1,030 new homes, a cinema and retail uses
Southwark Council
On the redevelopment of London Bridge Station
R (Gray) v LB Southwark [2012] EWCA Civ 1738 successfully resisting the claimant’s challenge to the grant of permission for the redevelopment of London Bridge station.
Heron Corporation
Advising on the Heron Tower and on the redevelopment of the adjacent Stone House and Staple Hall site
Development Securities plc (in JV with Berkshire Investment Capital)
Advising on the £85 million mixed use development of Cross Quarter, Abbey Wood, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich
Ricardo Gama
ricardo.gama@townlegal.com 0203 893 0386Ricardo has developed a broad practice encompassing largescale mixed use developments in London, urban extensions in the south east, compulsory purchase advice, and judicial review (both for interested parties and for claimants). Particular interests include all forms of planning and environmental litigation and advising on grey areas in the use classes.
Experience:
Richborough Estates
Suffolk Coastal Supreme Court proceedings.
Quintain
Regeneration of Wembley and revised masterplan for Wembley Park.
The Collective
Across a range of developments in London, advising on the planning parameters of their co-living concept;
Tollgate Village
Advising a consortium of town centre landowners in objecting to the Tollgate Village retail and leisure proposals on the outskirts of Colchester
Shift Living
Proposed new settlement to the south of Bedford;
Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust
Improvements to the Royal Brompton Hospital site
Brentford Dock
Objecting to the compulsory purchase of land as part of the redevelopment of Brentford High Street.
Miscellaneous
Acting for the owner of a site in Lambeth in successfully defending an enforcement notice;
Acting for objectors to the redevelopment of Merton Hall in south west London, including filing a claim for judicial review of the application to grant planning permission;
Acting for objectors to the HS2 hybrid bill in petitioning Parliament for its amendment.
Natasha Hartrup
natasha.hartrup@townlegal.comNatasha spent five years at King & Wood Mallesons before joining Town. She has experience in planning, highways, compulsory purchase and judicial review. She also deals with planning aspects of due diligence for corporate, real estate and finance transactions.
Experience:
Quintain
Regeneration of Wembley and revised masterplan for Wembley Park.
Fenwick Limited
Compulsory purchase inquiry for the redevelopment of Brent Cross shopping centre.
Miscellaneous
Acting for a property developer in a compulsory purchase compensation claim relating to the Crossrail Act.
Advising on the sustainable urban extension of 4,250 dwellings at New Lubbesthorpe, Leicester.
Advising on the sustainable urban extension of 4,500 dwellings north east of Leicester.
Susannah Herbert
susannah.herbert@townlegal.com 0203 893 0395Susannah was formerly an Associate at Herbert Smith Freehills. She has experience of advising on all stages of the planning process including planning applications, appeals, s106 and highways agreements, varying permissions, and certificates of lawfulness and on a wide range of issues such as compulsory purchase, heritage, EIA, highways and nationally significant infrastructure projects.
Experience:
EDF
Hinkley Point C
Stanhope (CGLP)
Ruskin Square, Croydon
Fidelity
3-10 Finsbury Square (appeal)
Norges
Investment in the Crown Estate’s Regent Street portfolio
LDA
Regeneration of Crystal Palace
Lucy Morton
lucy.morton@townlegal.com 020 3893 0401Lucy worked at Herbert Smith Freehills before joining Town. She has experience of advising on many aspects of planning law, including planning applications and variations, section 106 agreements, planning appeals, community infrastructure levy, heritage, environmental impact assessment and highways.
Experience:
Stanhope and Schroders
Croydon Northern Site
Battersea Power Station Development Company
Battersea Power Station redevelopment
First Base
52 Holloway Road inquiry
Hammerson
Principal Place, Hackney
Juliet Munn
juliet.munn@townlegal.com 020 3893 0392Juliet is an associate at Town, having qualified at King & Wood Mallesons (formerly SJ Berwin) in 2011 and worked in the planning and environment teams in both London and Sydney. Juliet acts on both contentious and non-contentious matters for developers, landowners, interest groups and corporate bodies and advises on all aspects of planning and environmental law.
Experience:
Fawley Waterside
Former Fawley power station site development, Hampshire
Oaktree Capital
Appeal of an aparthotel site, LB Tower Hamlets
Quantum Group
Mixed use scheme, LB Richmond-upon-Thames
Sellar
Shard Place regeneration, LB Southwark
Judicial review
R (on the application of HS2 Action Alliance Limited) v The Secretary of State for Transport & Another [2014] UKSC3.
Ashdown Forest Economic Development LLP v Wealden District Council [2016] Env.L.R. 2.
R (Luton Borough Council) v Central Bedfordshire Council & Other [2015] EWCA Civ 537.
Spencer Tewis-Allen
spencer.tewis-allen@townlegal.com 0203 893 0387Spencer advises on all aspects of planning law with strong expertise in viability. He has written the first comprehensive legal planning guide for Lexis Nexis on “Viability in Planning” (2017).
Spencer is currently writing a chapter on Planning Law Due Diligence to be published by the Law Society in Summer 2018.
Experience:
Battersea Power Station Development Company
Advising on Battersea Power Station; one of the country’s most complex and high-profile development projects.
First Base + JP Morgan
Leading case on affordable housing and viability concerning Parkhurst Road, Islington – acted on appeal and subsequent court litigation.
U+I PLC
High Court and Court of Appeal action to promote Shepherd’s Bush Market redevelopment.
Grafton Group PLC
Successfully quashed the Port of London’s CPO made in respect of Orchard Wharf, London.
Eco Bos Developments
1500 dwelling eco-town in Carclaze, Cornwall (one of the first in the UK)
Satnam Millennium
Appeal relating to 1500 dwelling development in Warrington, Manchester.