Claire is a specialist planning and environmental lawyer and Head of the Real Estate Business Group with an MA in Environmental Law and advises on a wide range of both contentious and non-contentious planning and environmental projects. She has particular expertise in the energy, waste and chemical sectors.
Claire has considerable experience acting for energy and waste developers in securing planning permission, environmental permits and Development Consent Orders (DCOs) for major energy and waste infrastructure. This includes strategic advice on the preparation and scope of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Habitats Regulation Assessments (HRAs) to support planning applications. In addition, Claire has significant experience of judicial review and other High Court action.
Claire also has specialist experience of waste regulatory law including advising on transfrontier shipment of waste, definition of waste, end of waste protocols and landfill tax advic
Experience
Advising:
- Augean plc on their DCO application for a hazardous waste nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) at their existing Northamptonshire landfill site. Work included advice and assistance throughout the pre-application, application and examination process, reviewing the preliminary environmental information, draft environmental statement, draft consultation report and draft notices required under the 2008 Act, drafting the DCO and section 106 Agreement. The DCO was granted in July 2013
- Augean plc on a planning application and appeal with respect to the disposal of low-level radioactive waste at their existing Northamptonshire landfill site. Work included advice on the scope and content of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) required to support the planning application. We also acted for Augean plc on the subsequent s.288 challenge to the Secretary of State’s approval of planning permission. The subject matter of the challenge related to the scope of the EIA and dealing with secondary and cumulative effects arising from the proposed development. We were ultimately successful in overturning the challenge in the Supreme Court (Bowen-West v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2012] Env.L.R.22)
- Cory Environmental in respect of their planning application and Call-in Inquiry for a 25MW energy from waste facility in Norfolk. Work included reviewing the draft EIA and permit application and advising on regulation 19 (now regulation 22) requests for further environmental information. Detailed advice was also given on the need for an appropriate assessment as part of an HRA that was carried out on behalf of Cory Environmental including the legal tests in the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 and the interpretation of these tests in the Waddenzee case
- MVV Environment Limited on their successful planning application to Plymouth City Council for a 25MW energy from waste and combined heat and power (CHP) facility. Work included reviewing the draft EIA, drafting a complex section 106 Agreement and successfully defending judicial review proceedings brought by an interested party against Plymouth City Council’s grant of planning permission
- MVV Environment Limited on their planning application to Devon County Council for an incinerator bottom ash facility. Work included advice on the scope and content of the EIA, the need to consider alternative sites and the scope and content of an appropriate assessment as part of an HRA with respect to several protected species. Also attending a four-week public inquiry for the appeal against the Council’s refusal of the scheme.
Claire is ranked in Band 2 in Chambers as a leading individual in Environmental Law for the North.
“She is well respected in the market for her broad practice which covers both contentious and non-contentious matters.”
