Practice Profile

Michael Humphries specialises in all aspects of property development law, but is particularly well known for his 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 developers, landowners and objectors, as well as central and local government. He regularly appears for or against projects in planning inquiries and, on appeal, in the Courts. Those projects range from small housing and retail schemes up to major infrastructure projects, including airports and power stations. Michael also has an extensive compulsory purchase inquiry and Lands Tribunal practice and is the senior editor of the Compulsory Purchase and Compensation Service, a leading practitioner manual.

Published comments about Michael have been consistently complimentary and include: "has a charmingly analytical approach" and "very good at directing, running and advising on matters" (Chambers & Partners 2001/2), "is good on detail" (Chambers & Partners 2002/3), "remains the subject of warm recommendation" (Chambers & Partners 2003/4), "charismatic" and "efficient and no-nonsense" (Chambers & Partners 2005/6), "adopts a ‘keep-it-simple approach', impressing clients by being ‘able to present evidence in a straightforward and logical manner'" (Chambers & Partners 2006/7), "impresses clients with his ‘user-friendliness, ability to grasp highly technical concepts and give extremely clear advice" (Chambers & Partners 2007/8) and he is described as one of the highest rated planning barristers in the Planning Magazine Law Survey 2009.

Cases of Note

• R (on the application of Barbone and Ross (on behalf of Stop Stansted Expansion))v (1) Secretary of State for Transport and Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and (2) BAA Limited and Stansted Airport Limited (successfully resisting challenge to grant of planning permission allowing greater use of Stansted Airport)
• R (on the application of Hart Aggregates Ltd) v Hartlepool BC (successful challenge on the meaning of conditions precedent)
• R (on the application of Takeley Parish Council and others) v BAA plc and Stansted Airport Limited (successfully resisting challenge to the Stansted Airport generalised blight scheme)
• Christos v Secretary of State for Transport (successful challenge in Court of Appeal to a Lands Tribunal decision on ‘estoppel' in compulsory purchase cases)
• Westgate Partnership and Oxford City Council v First Secretary of State (successful challenge to Secretary of State's decision on the Westgate Shopping Centre appeal)

Experience

Michael has practiced in the fields of planning, compulsory purchase and related areas of law since 1982 and over that time has developed a wide practice in all aspects of property development. Michael became Queen's Counsel in 2003 and almost immediately appeared in the directories as one of the highest rated planning silks.

PLANNING

Michael has a wide ranging planning practice covering all areas of development work.

His planning practice includes acting for and/or advising clients on retail schemes (e.g. Capital Shopping Centres in relation to Westgate Centre, Oxford; Metro Centre, Gateshead and Lakeside Centre, Thurrock), commercial schemes (e.g. the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in relation to Heron Tower and the Shard of Glass) and housing schemes (e.g. South Beds District Council in relation to the Trico site, Dunstable and the Totternhoe Stone and Lime site, Totternhoe). Michael also acts for statutory bodies such as the Port of London Authority and British Waterways. Michael is often brought in early in the development process to advise on the formulation of development projects, the scope of environmental impact assessment, the drafting of Environmental Statements, pre-application negotiations and stakeholder consultation. He has also advised local planning authorities on draft officer reports. He regularly appears at planning inquiries for developers and, indeed, local authorities. Michael has also acted on, or advised in relation to, a number of national, regional and local planning policy documents.

Michael has extensive experience in relation to listed building and conservation area issues and has advised a number of clients on such matters including the South Bank Centre and Stansted Airport Limited.

Michael has acted on and/or advised in relation to a number of major highway schemes including the motorway and trunk road links to Heathrow Airport and Stansted Airport. He has enormous experience of road traffic modelling issues, including mode share modelling, traffic assignment modelling and junction and link modelling. Michael also has experience in relation to the stopping up and diversion of highways and rights of way.

Michael has been involved with a number of projects involving Transport and Works Act orders and Harbour Revision orders, both as the promoter and an objector. Such projects include Shellhaven, Thameslink 2000 and the Northern Gateway container terminal.

Michael also has a very extensive compulsory purchase practice, where he is recognised as a leading practitioner. Michael advises on the preparation of CPOs and on negotiations with landowners, as well preparing for and appearing at compulsory purchase inquiries. He has, for example, promoted and/or objected to a number of urban regeneration CPOs including at St Austell (Cornwall), the Paradise Street retail scheme (Liverpool), the Broadmead retail scheme (Bristol) and the Park Place retail scheme (Croydon). He has also acted for and/or advised on CPOs for a large number of other projects including those in the transport, energy, water and waste sectors. He lectures and writes widely on the topic of compulsory purchase and compensation and is the senior editor of one of the leading practitioner manuals.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Michael's experience in major infrastructure projects is particularly strong. Michael has acted for the promoters of the Hinckley Point ‘C' nuclear power station, Didcot ‘B' gas fired power station, the York-Teeside supergrid reinforcement, Heathrow Terminal 5, the Canatxx underground gas storage project, the Stansted Generation 1 and Generation 2 projects and the Lee Tunnel and Thames Tunnel projects. Michael is very experience in managing the planning and related aspects of large infrastructure projects and has extensive knowledge of many technical aspects of such schemes including: agricultural resources, air and ground noise, air quality, air traffic forecasting, alternatives, community and population, economic benefits, employment, energy, geology, ground contamination, health impacts, landscape and visual impacts, minerals, need, planning policy, nature conservation, nuclear power generation, overhead lines, third party risk, transport, waste and water resources. Michael has advised on the drafting of Planning Statements, Environmental Statements, Health Impact Assessments, Design and Access Statements, Economic Impact Reports and Water Resource Management Plans.

Michael continues to advise on a number of large projects in the energy, transport, waste and water sectors.

Michael has already been consulted by clients in relation to the new Planning Act 2008 procedures and has been asked to speak at seminars on various aspects of the new regime.

ENVIRONMENT

Michael has worked on a number of projects with strong environmental law aspects. He has, for example, dealt with waste projects (e.g. Seahouses sewage treatment works for Northumbrian Water), water resource projects (e.g. potential reservoirs sites for a water company), projects involving issues of air quality (e.g. the Stansted Generation 1 project for Stansted Airport Limited), projects relating to water quality (e.g. the Lee Tunnel project for Thames Water) and projects with potential Habitats Directive and/or Wild birds Directive implications (e.g. the Canatxx gas storage project). Michael has considerable experience of nature conservation issues and, for example, advised in relation to the Stansted Generation 2 project which proposed some 208 ha of offsetting measures.

PUBLIC LAW

Michael has advised on and appeared in a number of public law cases for the claimant, the defendant and for interested parties. For example, Michael appeared successfully for the claimant in R (on the application of Hart Aggregates Ltd) v Hartlepool BC. This was an important High Court decision which developed the law in relation to the proper interpretation of ‘conditions precedent'. In R (on the application of Takeley Parish Council and others) v BAA plc and Stansted Airport Limited he acted successfully for the defendants in resisting a challenge to Stansted Airport's generalised blight relief schemes. Most recently, Michael acted successfully for the interested parties (BAA Limited and Stansted Airport Limited) in R (on the application of Barbone and Ross (on behalf of Stop Stansted Expansion))v (1) Secretary of State for Transport and Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and (2) BAA Limited and Stansted Airport Limited a challenge by a local objector group to the grant of planning permission for the Stansted Generation 1 project.

LAND VALUATION

Michael has appeared for, or advised, a large number of clients in relation to compulsory purchase compensation matters, acting for both acquiring authorities and claimants. Michael is often brought in at an early stage by acquiring authorities to advise on potential claims and negotiations with landowners. He is very used to dealing with expert valuation advice and directing large teams of expert witnesses. Michael has extensive experience of issues such as ‘open market value', comparable evidence, residual valuations, ‘planning assumptions', the Point Gourde principle, injurious affection, equivalent reinstatement and disturbance payments.

Michael was one of the panel of Counsel retained by Union Rail Property to advise on, and appear in relation to, claims arising out of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (now known as High Speed One).  In that capacity he took a number of cases to the Lands Tribunal and the Court of Appeal (e.g. in relation to claims by Prielipp and Kennerly, and Christos). He has also advised or acted for local authorities such as Somerset County Council (Snook and others v Somerset CC) and Bradford Metropolitan District Council (Castle House Investment Limited v Bradford MDC) and for claimants such as Proctors Pleasure Park (Proctor v Highways Agency) and Cathedral Group and Network Rail (Cathedral Group and Network Rail v Rochester upon Medway City Council).

Michael was a founder member of the Compulsory Purchase Association and, indeed, its first Treasurer. He has lectured extensively on compulsory purchase compensation issues and has also written a number of published articles.

Qualifications and Appointments

• Called to the Bar: 1982
• Queen's Counsel: 2003
• Committee member of the Joint Planning Law Conference (i.e. the Oxford Planning Conference)
• Chair of the Anglo American Real Property Institute
• Senior Bar Auditor of the Inner Temple
• Bencher of the Inner Temple: 2010