Practice Profile

Suzanne Ornsby is a senior junior with nineteen years experience at the planning, environment, local government and administrative bar. She appears for clients in both the private and public sector and her work covers a broad range of subjects including residential development, transportation, water and electricity supply (particularly nuclear), minerals and waste, retail and the built heritage.
Suzanne Ornsby has acted for clients on various planning related professional negligence matters. She is a member, and previous secretary, to the Planning and Environment Bar Association, a member of UKELA and the Administrative Law Bar Association. She is a trained advocacy instructor for the Middle Temple. She has been consistently recognised as a "leader in her field" in various legal compendiums for many years.

"Suzanne Ornsby provides "great commercial advice and is a delight to work with" Chambers and Partners 2005/2006
"Suzanne Ornsby is a highly proficient junior inquiry advocate at the planning bar"
Chambers and Partners 2008/2009

Experience

PLANNING, ENVIRONMENTAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Suzanne Ornsby has been involved in numerous planning and enforcement inquiries and is also highly specialised in local plans, now local development frameworks. This includes the South Gloucestershire and South Oxfordshire Local Plans, the Chelmsford Borough Council and South Gloucestershire Core Strategies and Regional Spatial Strategies for the South West and the South East of England.

Suzanne Ornsby has acted for developers and local authorities on numerous major urban extensions including land at Northfield, Filton, Bristol 2,200 houses, Harry Stoke, Bristol 1200 houses, land at Hewlett Packard, Bristol 1200 houses, land at Hunts Grove, Stroud 1750 houses.

She has also acted on major water projects including a desalination plant for Thames Water on the River Thames and a major reservoir resource at Abingdon. She is one of the few remaining barristers still practicing at the Planning Bar who has significant experience of nuclear power having acted as the Central Electricity Generating Board's legal advisor at the last major public inquiry into a nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset. She has also acted on proposals for major quarry extensions and waste facilities for Cemex and on the proposed expansion at Bristol International Airport for North Somerset Council.

She has defended and prosecuted in respect of listed building offences and environmental matters (including specialist areas such as vibration resulting from quarry blasting and water pollution).

Suzanne Ornsby has also appeared in numerous High Court statutory challenges and Judicial Reviews on all aspects of planning including Natural Justice and Human Rights issues.