Local Government

Our expertise includes all aspects of local government law and procedures, including local government finance, procurement, land disposal, housing, highways, public health and environment, education, standards in local government, procedure, maladministration and election law.

Further examples of work involving the powers and responsibilities of local government in fields such as planning, rating/Council tax, licensing, compulsory purchase, compensation, and administrative law are given in the other sections of our website.

Five members of Chambers feature amongst the top leading silks in this area of practice in Chambers and Partners (2007) whilst many other members, at both silk and junior level, feature in the often overlapping Planning area.

Examples of recent work include:

• Several recent cases concerning bias in local government, including R Port Regis School Ltd. v. North Dorset District Council (whether membership of the Freemasons was a prejudicial interest), and R (Condron) v. National Assembly for Wales (prior expression of opinion in advance of decision).
• Advising the Mayor of London and Transport for London concerning revisions to the Mayor's Transport Strategy and his Air Quality Strategy and in respect of two scheme orders under the Greater London Authority Act 1999, one extending the Congestion Charging Zone to Kensington and Chelsea, and one proposing a Low Emission Zone for Greater London.
• R (Walmsley) v. Lane concerning the powers of the parking adjudicator in connection with collection of penalty charges.
• LB Barnet v. Parking Adjudicator (validity of penalty charge notices (parking tickets) in Greater London).
• Litigation involving the licensing of pedicabs in London.
• Hardy v. (1) Pembrokeshire County Council (2) Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority & (1) Dragon LNG Ltd (2) South Hook LNG Terminal Co Ltd (3) Health and Safety Executive (4) Milford Haven Port Authority (concerning the interrelationship of the exercise of different jurisdictions between the County Council, the National Park Authority, the Harbour Board and the Health and Safety Executive, as well as the relationship between planning control, hazardous waste and pipeline consents together with European requirements for EIA and articles 2 and 8 of the Human Rights Act).
• LB Waltham Forest v. Oakmesh and another, (Chancery Division) concerning the enforceability and enforcement of a section 106 obligation).
• Stevenage Borough Council v. Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government concerning the correct approach to the interpretation of planning permissions.
• R(P) v. Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead - where a local authority make an assessment of a child's learning needs under s.139A of the Learning and Skills Act 2000, the making of a recommendation as to an educational placement is an essential element of the assessment and report as required by s.139B of the Act.
• Hermann v RBKC [2010] EWHC 1706 (Ch) - the only leading authority on the interpretation of the Kensington Improvement Act 1851 which governs access to most of the garden squares in Kensington.

Members of Chambers have also been involved in a number of cases involving both the Commissioner for Local Administration and the Parliamentary Commissioner as well as the Standards Board for England. Recent notable cases include:

• R v. Commissioner for Local Administration, ex parte Turpin (legal constraints on the Local Government Ombudsman)
• R v. Parliamentary Commissioner, ex parte Balchin (Nos. 1, 2 and 3) (legal constraints on the Parliamentary Ombudsman).

Junior members of Chambers also attend secondments at local and public authorities where they advise and appear on a variety of different local government issues.