The authors

Michael Humphries QC

Real Estate, Environment and Planning Silk of the Year (Legal 500 UK Awards 2013)

Environment/Planning Silk of the Year (Chambers and Partners Bar Awards 2013)

Michael Humphries specialises in all aspects of property development law, but is particularly well known for his major infrastructure planning and compulsory purchase work, where he has acted in relation to some of the largest and most important projects in recent years. Michael has acted for and advised utilities, developers, landowners and objectors, as well as central and local government. Michael also has an extensive compulsory purchase inquiry and Lands Tribunal practice and is the senior editor of ‘The Law of Compulsory Purchase’ (Bloomsbury Professional), a leading practitioner manual.

Douglas Edwards QC
Douglas Edwards practices in the fields of planning, compulsory purchase environment, administrative and local government, highway law and property law. He also has particular expertise in the law relating to common land and greens.He appears regularly for both appellants and local planning and other authorities at inquiries and in the courts. Douglas has recently been appointed by the Governments as an assistant boundary commissioner and lead assistant commissioner for the East Midlands. His role will involve holding hearing and considering representations into proposals to modify Parliamentary constituencies.

Gregory Jones QC
Gregory's practice covers all aspects of administrative law including judicial review and statutory challenges, town planning, compulsory purchase, environmental law, EU law and public procurement, education, local government, administrative law. Regularly appearing in both public inquiries and the higher courts, Gregory acts on behalf of developers, local planning authorities and third parties.

James Pereira QC
James specialises in planning, environmental, local government and administrative law, compulsory purchase and compensation.

James was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2014. He was named 'Junior Barrister of the Year' in Planning and Environmental Law by Chambers and Partners Directory of the UK Legal Profession in 2009 and 2007. He is ranked number one in the Royal Town Planning Institute’s survey of the Junior Planning Bar (2012 and 2013).

He is in the highest rank of junior barristers in both environmental law and planning law in the Legal 500 (2012) and Chambers and Partners Directory (2012), who list him as one of only four "star individuals" at the junior planning bar. He is also ranked as a leading junior in Administrative Law in both directories.

Hereward Phillpot QC
Hereward was named ‘Junior Barrister of the Year’ in environment and planning for 2012 by the Chambers and Partners Directory, which also ranks him as one of only four “Star Individuals” in the field of planning. The Legal 500 Directory similarly ranks him as one of the top four juniors in planning, and the RTPI Planning Magazine Law Survey ranks him as one of the top three.

Alexander Booth QC
Alex Booth has a practice which encompasses all aspects of planning, compulsory purchase and environmental law. He regularly appears at Public Inquiries, in the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) and in the High Court , and has also appeared in both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

He has wide experience of infrastructure development generally, and of nationally significant infrastructure projects promoted pursuant to the 2008 Act in particular. As regards the latter, he promoted the Rookery South Resource Recovery Facility on behalf of Covanta, and acted on behalf of Associated British Ports to oppose the Marine Energy Park promoted on the south bank of the Humber Estuary, close by the Port of Immingham. Other experience includes the promotion of LNG pipelines in South Wales on behalf of National Grid, opposing the expansion of Coventry Airport and advising statutory undertakers regarding the laying of high voltage electricity cabling in Central London, required in connection with Crossrail.

Richard Honey
Richard Honey practises as a barrister in public and environmental law, with particular specialisms in judicial review and statutory High Court challenges, infrastructure projects, and compulsory purchase and compensation. Richard’s infrastructure experience includes schemes under the Transport and Works Act and the Electricity Act, and parliamentary work including appearances before the Crossrail Bill committee for various objectors. Recent infrastructure work includes the Olympics, Thameslink, Crossrail, highway schemes, wind farms and airports (Stansted, Southend, Lydd). Richard advised Natural England on the examinations into Hinkley Point C nuclear power station and the Able Marine Energy Park. Richard is ranked as a leading barrister by Chambers and Partners for planning and environmental law and was also ranked in the top 10 highest rated planning junior barristers in the 2013 Planning magazine survey.  

Mark Westmoreland Smith
Mark has been described recently as “rapidly scaling the ranks” and “particularly well regarded” with “a bright future” (Chambers and Partners 2013). He was consistently recognised as one of the leading planning barristers under the age of 35. His practice encompasses all areas of chambers’ expertise and, in particular, planning, environmental law, administrative law, infrastructure, waste, compulsory purchase and land valuation, highways, licensing and the law of town and village greens.

Rebecca Clutten
Rebecca Clutten (MA Law (Cantab)) was called to the Bar in 2008, joined Chambers as a tenant in 2010, and is currently ranked 5th in the top planning juniors under 35 (RTPI Planning Magazine Survey, 2012).

Rebecca has advised and appeared for promoters of development consent orders, including National Grid and DONG Energy Ltd, at both the application and examination stages of the process.

She is a member of the National Infrastructure Planning Association and Compulsory Purchase Association and is an elected member of the committee of the Planning and Environmental Bar Association.

Isabella Tafur

Isabella has gained considerable experience of national infrastructure planning through her involvement in a number of DCO applications.

She has worked for National Grid in relation to its application for development consent for an innovative carbon capture and storage project, as well as for the promoters of the Walney Extension offshore windfarm application in the Irish Sea, the A30 trunk road improvement in Cornwall and the Able Marine Energy Park on the Humber estuary. In these cases she has been involved in the preparation and review of documents both prior to, and after the submission of the application. She has attended preliminary meetings and issue specific hearings and prepared written submissions during the examination period.

Cain Ormondroyd

Cain has been a member of Chambers at Francis Taylor Building since 2008. He practices in all forms of planning and infrastructure law. Particular specialisms are land valuation disputes, in which he is frequently instructed by public authorities and private clients, and judicial review/statutory challenges. He is a member of the Attorney-General’s panel of barristers.