We understand how hard local government works. Our lawyers support local government and the wider public sector across the UK, advising on a wide range of matters - from bespoke advisory to large scale, multi-party transactions.

The pressure on local authorities to protect and improve services sits alongside their imperative to develop commercial activity and offset the continued cuts in spending. Our lawyers can help with this – with innovative and practical solutions based on years of experience in local government. 

With eight regional offices across the UK, we are particularly proud of the part our firm has played in some of the country's most significant regeneration schemes. We have also advised on a number of public-private partnership projects involving the development of new housing, education, leisure, waste and energy facilities, transport and infrastructure, and other uses critical to the creation of sustainable places and communities. We provide a range of services for our clients – often supporting projects throughout their complete life cycle.

Our team has extensive experience in the legal aspects of setting up local authority companies and joint ventures. We are aware of the different solutions that local authorities require and are well-versed in supporting in-house legal teams in the more challenging areas of local government law. Our team has a national reputation in advising on a variety of local government issues and has an enviable track record of handling procurement challenges and judicial review cases.

We are appointed to Crown Commercial Services (CCS) RM6240 Public Sector Legal Services Framework, as well as other national frameworks accessible to local government and the wider public sector.

What we do

Working closely with local authorities, we advise on issues related to many sectors in which our lawyers have extensive experience, including: 

  • Energy and natural resources
  • Education
  • Charities
  • Transport and infrastructure
  • Real estate and regeneration
  • Planning
  • Leisure
  • Waste

Our experienced team of lawyers advise local government in a range of areas, including: 

  • Complex mixed-use regeneration schemes, and strategic land
  • Contracting, including facilities management agreements
  • Dispute resolution
  • Education, including school build projects, catering and IT contracts, academy trusts and diocesan bodies
  • Employment, TUPE and pensions
  • Energy and natural resources, including district heating projects, energy from waste and renewables
  • Health and safety (H&S)
  • Finance and investment
  • Freedom of information matters and data protection
  • Funding agreements, grants and bids
  • Highways matters
  • Information Technology (IT)
  • Joint Ventures (JV) and local authority companies and acquisitions
  • Litigation, including Inquests and Inquiries
  • Outsourcing, specifically in the waste and leisure sector
  • Planning, including Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) and Development Consent Orders (DCO)
  • Procurement, as well as procurement challenges and Judicial Review (JR)
  • Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Private Finance Initiative (PFI)
  • Public sector Frameworks
  • Real estate and construction
  • State aid / subsidy control
  • Transport, including road, rail, airports, ports and Freeports, bus franchising, smart ticketing
  • Vires and local government law

Examples of work

  • Advised Newcastle City Council on its joint venture with a private sector developer, a partnership that completes the rebirth of the Stephenson Quarter - one of the UK's most high-profile development sites. The joint venture, Stephenson Works LLP, will continue the regeneration of 4.3 acres of brownfield land behind Central Station and create a vibrant quarter for the regional economy with new residential development, office space, and leisure and public facilities. We provided key legal expertise on the proposed joint venture structure, assisted with all aspects of the procurement process and led the negotiations in relation to the real estate and corporate matters associated with this complex transaction.
  • Advised Warrington Borough Council on the outsourcing of its adult social care directorate to a staff-led social enterprise. The project included advice on the transfer of over 300 staff plus assets, and revised property arrangements for eight separate locations across the borough. Specific advice was required in relation to TUPE, pensions, state aid, procurement, leases and licensing, CQC registration and council participation in the social enterprise vehicle
  • Supported Hampshire County Council on a wide range of matters related to its waste service treatment PPP contractand HWRC contract with Veolia (a waste disposal contract worth over £1 billion). This also included advice regarding inter-authority arrangements with a number of other authorities. This waste services treatment PPP contract is one of the most complex, high value and strategically important contracts which the Council has
  • City of York Council sought our advice on the re-procurement of their existing Park & Ride service, which saw over 4.6 million passenger journeys since 2016. As part of our engagement we prepared the draft service contract and reviewed bidder mark ups, clarifications and responses. We advised the council on a deed of variation to the existing Park & Ride service contract to provide the council with additional time to carry out the re-procurement exercise. Further, we provided specialist procurement support in relation to ultra-low emission vehicle grant funding from the Department for Transport
  • Advised Northumberland County Council on the development of a £43 million learning and leisure campus in Ponteland. Our multidisciplinary team was led by our construction and engineering, and projects and procurement teams. The campus comprises of a 52-place nursery, 420-pupil primary school and 1,600-pupil secondary school, all on the same site, alongside a state-of-the-art leisure centre, café, sports bar and library.
  • Advised Newcastle City Council in relation to the procurement of a partner to deliver current and future district energy projects in Newcastle. We advised in relation to the delivery of a district energy scheme at the Science Central development in Newcastle, and on the long-term partnering arrangements under which future schemes will be identified, evaluated and delivered
  • Advised London Borough of Lewisham on the Lewisham Gateway scheme, which is key to the regeneration of Lewisham Town Centre and of major importance in achieving the Council’s planning and regeneration objectives. The scheme is a public/private sector collaboration between Lewisham Council, the GLA, TfL and developer Lewisham Gateway Developments Limited. We advised on all planning aspects leading to the original grant of consent, including on a series of variations to the original permission and associated planning agreement. We also advised on the grant funding for Phase 2 of the project, involving three grant agreements and advice on procurement and complex subsidy control issues
  • Worked alongside multiple stakeholders to secure the Secretary of State for Transport's decision to make the Portishead branch line ('MetroWest Phase 1') Order. We were instructed by North Somerset Council and the West of England Combined Authority to promote the Order required to authorise the railway's reopening. The Development Consent Order secures consent for the largest local authority led railway reopening project in the country. Restoration of railway services along the branch line between Portishead and Bristol will help to alleviate congestion and open up sustainable travel choices
  • Advised Durham County Council on its extra care scheme for the delivery of six new adult social care facilities across the county on council-owned sites. The project had a value of £24 million and was delivered through PPP. We advised on the property aspects, SLAs for repair, catering, laundry and other FM services and advised on void guarantees and nomination agreements
  • Advised London Borough of Croydon on their £40 million per annum outsourcing of buildings maintenance and other facilities management services. The council sought a partner to carry out buildings maintenance contract with Interserve, cleaning and other services for the council at all of its facilities (schools excluded). We advised on all aspects of the procurement (negotiated procedure) and contractual documentation, and negotiated the final form of. The contract is for a seven-year term with an option to extend for a further three years. There was a substantial TUPE and pensions element to the contract.

We understand how hard local government works. Our lawyers support local government and the wider public sector across the UK, advising on a wide range of matters - from bespoke advisory to large scale, multi-party transactions.

The pressure on local authorities to protect and improve services sits alongside their imperative to develop commercial activity and offset the continued cuts in spending. Our lawyers can help with this – with innovative and practical solutions based on years of experience in local government. 

Find an expert

Key contacts

Our expertise in glocal Government

With eight regional offices across the UK, we are particularly proud of the part our firm has played in some of the country's most significant regeneration schemes. We have also advised on a number of public-private partnership projects involving the development of new housing, education, leisure, waste and energy facilities, transport and infrastructure, and other uses critical to the creation of sustainable places and communities. We provide a range of services for our clients – often supporting projects throughout their complete life cycle.

Our team has extensive experience in the legal aspects of setting up local authority companies and joint ventures. We are aware of the different solutions that local authorities require and are well-versed in supporting in-house legal teams in the more challenging areas of local government law. Our team has a national reputation in advising on a variety of local government issues and has an enviable track record of handling procurement challenges and judicial review cases.

We are appointed to Crown Commercial Services (CCS) RM6240 Public Sector Legal Services Framework, as well as other national frameworks accessible to local government and the wider public sector.

What we do

Working closely with local authorities, we advise on issues related to many sectors in which our lawyers have extensive experience, including: 

  • Energy and natural resources
  • Education
  • Charities
  • Transport and infrastructure
  • Real estate and regeneration
  • Planning
  • Leisure
  • Waste

Our experienced team of lawyers advise local government in a range of areas, including: 

  • Complex mixed-use regeneration schemes, and strategic land
  • Contracting, including facilities management agreements
  • Dispute resolution
  • Education, including school build projects, catering and IT contracts, academy trusts and diocesan bodies
  • Employment, TUPE and pensions
  • Energy and natural resources, including district heating projects, energy from waste and renewables
  • Health and safety (H&S)
  • Finance and investment
  • Freedom of information matters and data protection
  • Funding agreements, grants and bids
  • Highways matters
  • Information Technology (IT)
  • Joint Ventures (JV) and local authority companies and acquisitions
  • Litigation, including Inquests and Inquiries
  • Outsourcing, specifically in the waste and leisure sector
  • Planning, including Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) and Development Consent Orders (DCO)
  • Procurement, as well as procurement challenges and Judicial Review (JR)
  • Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Private Finance Initiative (PFI)
  • Public sector Frameworks
  • Real estate and construction
  • State aid / subsidy control
  • Transport, including road, rail, airports, ports and Freeports, bus franchising, smart ticketing
  • Vires and local government law
In need of a Local Government lawyer? Look no further.
At Womble Bond Dickinson we have an exceptional team of talented lawyers and business professionals who can offer guidance and find the solutions right for your business. We have both broad and niche expertise across all our UK and US offices.
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The Legal 500, 2023

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Examples of our work and how we’ve helped companies of all sizes with a wide range of challenges.

  • Advised Newcastle City Council on its joint venture with a private sector developer, a partnership that completes the rebirth of the Stephenson Quarter - one of the UK's most high-profile development sites. The joint venture, Stephenson Works LLP, will continue the regeneration of 4.3 acres of brownfield land behind Central Station and create a vibrant quarter for the regional economy with new residential development, office space, and leisure and public facilities. We provided key legal expertise on the proposed joint venture structure, assisted with all aspects of the procurement process and led the negotiations in relation to the real estate and corporate matters associated with this complex transaction.
  • Advised Warrington Borough Council on the outsourcing of its adult social care directorate to a staff-led social enterprise. The project included advice on the transfer of over 300 staff plus assets, and revised property arrangements for eight separate locations across the borough. Specific advice was required in relation to TUPE, pensions, state aid, procurement, leases and licensing, CQC registration and council participation in the social enterprise vehicle
  • Supported Hampshire County Council on a wide range of matters related to its waste service treatment PPP contractand HWRC contract with Veolia (a waste disposal contract worth over £1 billion). This also included advice regarding inter-authority arrangements with a number of other authorities. This waste services treatment PPP contract is one of the most complex, high value and strategically important contracts which the Council has
  • City of York Council sought our advice on the re-procurement of their existing Park & Ride service, which saw over 4.6 million passenger journeys since 2016. As part of our engagement we prepared the draft service contract and reviewed bidder mark ups, clarifications and responses. We advised the council on a deed of variation to the existing Park & Ride service contract to provide the council with additional time to carry out the re-procurement exercise. Further, we provided specialist procurement support in relation to ultra-low emission vehicle grant funding from the Department for Transport
  • Advised Northumberland County Council on the development of a £43 million learning and leisure campus in Ponteland. Our multidisciplinary team was led by our construction and engineering, and projects and procurement teams. The campus comprises of a 52-place nursery, 420-pupil primary school and 1,600-pupil secondary school, all on the same site, alongside a state-of-the-art leisure centre, café, sports bar and librar
  • Advised Newcastle City Council in relation to the procurement of a partner to deliver current and future district energy projects in Newcastle. We advised in relation to the delivery of a district energy scheme at the Science Central development in Newcastle, and on the long-term partnering arrangements under which future schemes will be identified, evaluated and delivered
  • Advised London Borough of Lewisham on the Lewisham Gateway scheme, which is key to the regeneration of Lewisham Town Centre and of major importance in achieving the Council’s planning and regeneration objectives. The scheme is a public/private sector collaboration between Lewisham Council, the GLA, TfL and developer Lewisham Gateway Developments Limited. We advised on all planning aspects leading to the original grant of consent, including on a series of variations to the original permission and associated planning agreement. We also advised on the grant funding for Phase 2 of the project, involving three grant agreements and advice on procurement and complex subsidy control issues
  • Worked alongside multiple stakeholders to secure the Secretary of State for Transport's decision to make the Portishead branch line ('MetroWest Phase 1') Order. We were instructed by North Somerset Council and the West of England Combined Authority to promote the Order required to authorise the railway's reopening. The Development Consent Order secures consent for the largest local authority led railway reopening project in the country. Restoration of railway services along the branch line between Portishead and Bristol will help to alleviate congestion and open up sustainable travel choices
  • Advised Durham County Council on its extra care scheme for the delivery of six new adult social care facilities across the county on council-owned sites. The project had a value of £24 million and was delivered through PPP. We advised on the property aspects, SLAs for repair, catering, laundry and other FM services and advised on void guarantees and nomination agreements
  • Advised London Borough of Croydon on their £40 million per annum outsourcing of buildings maintenance and other facilities management services. The council sought a partner to carry out buildings maintenance contract with Interserve, cleaning and other services for the council at all of its facilities (schools excluded). We advised on all aspects of the procurement (negotiated procedure) and contractual documentation, and negotiated the final form of. The contract is for a seven-year term with an option to extend for a further three years. There was a substantial TUPE and pensions element to the contract.