Practice Profile

Ned joined Francis Taylor Building in 2010 after completing pupillage in Chambers.  He undertakes a wide variety of work, in particular across all planning and environmental law contexts. 

Recent work includes regulatory prosecutions, statutory notice appeals, inquiries for projects within European conservation sites, planning and highways inquiries and environmental judicial reviews.

The main areas of Ned's practice are:

• Environmental
• Planning
• Local Government
• Land/property law
• Village greens/rights of way
• Public law

Practice areas

Environmental

Ned has considerable expertise and experience in environmental law, including conservation law, nuisance, statutory nuisance, water law, waste law and contaminated land.

Ned acted for the claimant in R (on the application of U & Partners (East Anglia) Ltd) v Broads Authority [2011] EWHC 1824 (Admin), a successful challenge to the Environment Agency's flood control works in Norfolk, which confirmed that the requirement of "promptitude" does not apply to judicial reviews under the EIA Directive.

Recent statutory environmental appeals include: acting for Epping Forest Riding Association in their objection to the introduction of cattle grids to the forest acting for BAE Systems in its appeal against Natural England's refusal to licence bird control measures in a European protected conservation area and appeals against abatement notices for noise and odour nuisances. 

In respect of criminal work, Ned has acted both for prosecutors and defendants and is a member of FTB's Environmental Crime Group. Ned also has extensive knowledge of the new civil sanctions regime for environmental offences, he contributed to the leading text book and has given presentations on the subject to regulated persons and regulatory bodies - most recently on enforcement undertakings; he is well-placed to act and/or advise and act in this new area of law.

Ned regularly talks and writes on environmental law and has an LLM (environmental laws) from UCL.

Planning

Ned is rated as one of the top 10 juniors under the age of 35 by Planning Magazine 2011.  He has a solid and practical knowledge of planning law from court work, inquiry experience and written advice.  In 2010, he made representations to the Examination in Public of the latest version of the London Plan, England's only surviving Regional Strategy.

In respect of planning inquiries, Ned has acted successfully both for appellants and local authorities.  He has been involved in high profile development proposals and technical enforcement work.  He appeared with Keith Lindblom QC (as he then was) for the Friends of St Katharine Docks in their successful third party objection to major redevelopment proposals.  He was also successful counsel for the appellant in a planning enforcement appeal regarding houseboats on the Driffield Navigation, Yorkshire (Planning Magazine, 22 October 2010, page 35).

Local government

Part-time secondments at Medway Council and Sevenoaks District Council in 2011 have given Ned direct practical experience in local government law.  Among other things, he has acted in licensing hearings for local authorities and appellants.  He also has considerable experience of housing possession and disrepair claims.

Land / property law

Ned has advised on easements, restrictive covenants and landlord and tenant issues.  He has appeared in front of the Tribunal to the Land Registry and has argued boundary disputes in the courts.Village Greens/rights of way

Village Greens / rights of way

Ned acted for local inhabitants in two important Court of Appeal cases on the deregistration of town and village greens under section 14 of the Commons Registration Act 1965: Betterment Properties (Weymouth) Ltd v Dorset CC [2012] EWCA Civ 250 and Paddico (267) Ltd v Kirklees MC [2012] EWCA Civ 262.

He has appeared at village green inquiries for landowners and local inhabitants.  He was junior counsel to Douglas Edwards QC in a recent case establishing that the doctrine of res judicata applies to prevent repeat village green applications.  He has an excellent knowledge of the practice and procedures of village green law and has benefited greatly from working with village green experts at FTB and from his time as pupil to Philip Petchey. 

In addition, Ned has experience of rights of way inquiries and highways issues.  In August 2011, he acted for Shipbourne Parish Council successfully opposing the proposed diversion of a footpath in the Kent Downs AONB.

Public law / other areas

Ned also undertakes work in other areas of public law such as education, immigration and community care.  He is also an experienced advocate in Employment Tribunal claims, social security cases, road traffic disputes and debt claims.Awards and education

Awards and education

• Winner, UKELA Lord Slynn of Hadley senior mooting competition (2009 and 2010), on both occasions before Carnwath LJ
• Lord Denning Scholarship, Lincoln's Inn (2008)
• LLM (environmental laws), University of London (2007)
• DMH Stallard Prize for the best results on the Common Professional Examination (distinction) University of Sussex (2006)
• BA Classics (first class degree), UCL (2004), recognised on the Dean's List

Publications

• Co-presentor, "2011's ‘hottest' cases reviewed" at the United Kingdom Environmental Law Association (UKELA) Conference 2011
• The Habitats Directive: how to deal with candidate SACs and potential SPAs? (with Gregory Jones QC) (March 2011, to be published as part of collection by Hart Publishing)
• Contributor to The Law of Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions (Norris and Phillips eds.) (Oxford University Press, February 2011), the leading textbook on the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008
• Chapter on public participation in UK CCS planning and consent procedures (with Meyric Lewis) in Carbon Capture and Storage: Emerging Legal and Regulatory Issues (Havercroft, Macrory and Stewart eds.) (Hart Publishing, July 2011)
• Update: planning SJ (2009) 153/47 25 (with Gregory Jones)
• Chapter on UK implementation in The Aarhus Convention at Ten: Interactions and Tensions between Conventional International Law and EU Environmental Law (Europa Law Publishing, November 2009) (with Prof. Richard Macrory)
• Costs, Protective Costs and Environmental Cases: The Ongoing Saga E-law 52 (July 2009) 7
• The new European Marine Strategy Directive (legislative note) Env. L. Rev. 2008, 10(3), 218-224

Miscellaneous

• Founded and chaired the first Public Interest Environmental Law (PIEL) conference (2007)
• Knowledge of modern European languages; fluent in Italian
• Member of UKELA, PEBA, ALBA and the HSLA