Environment in Yorkshire And The Humber
DLA Piper
With a strong presence in all areas of environmental law, DLA Piper UK LLP handles environmental litigation and prosecutions, transactional matters, compliance issues, waste-related work and regulatory mandates. The department also includes specialists in climate change, emissions and product stewardship. Highly regarded practice head Teresa Hitchcock handles contaminated land issues, nuisance disputes, climate change law and regeneration projects. Newly promoted partner Alastair Clough leads the transactional element of the practice.
Practice head(s):
Teresa Hitchcock
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘DLA Piper provides a first-class service at all levels from junior to partner level, deriving from wide experience and detailed attention to each matter. It is a full-service firm with resources to match‘.
‘The practice has an exceptionally broad client base and provides all-round strength in both contentious and non-contentious matters‘.
‘Teresa Hitchcock is an able and extremely determined lawyer, fiercely loyal to her clients and has remarkable strategic sense‘.
Key clients
Tarmac Services Limited
Boparan Holdings Limited
Unilever
BEIS
Wilko
Heineken UK Limited
Lloyds Pharmacy Limited
Work highlights
- Advising Tarmac Services Limited on an existing remediation notice requiring the clean-up of an aquifer.
- Acting for Boparan Holdings Limited on the sale of parts of its food business operations including the environmental and food-related aspects.
- Assisting Unilever with the environmental elements of its acquisition of Graze, the snack box company.
- Advising Wilko on an environmental review process including compliance issues and environmental management system matters.
- Advising the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the safety and environmental issues relating to the redundant Teesside integrated iron and steel works site.
CMS
CMS has expertise in the energy, waste, contaminated land and consumer product sectors and is knowledgeable on environmental permitting issues, clean energy and climate change. The team is led by Lukas Rootman, who regularly defends clients in Environment Agency prosecutions. Senior associate Rebecca Roffe is the key contact for transactional work, while senior associate Esme Saynor has particular experience of advising on plastics regulations.
Practice head(s):
Lukas Rootman
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘CMS is a key name in the Sheffield market for environmental work‘.
Key clients
Red Industries
Whitemoss Landfill Limited
Fitzwilliam Wentworth Estates
SSE
Arora plc
National Grid UK Pension Fund
AXA Real Estate
Work highlights
- Advising on the environmental elements of the development of two energy-from-waste facilities.
- Assisting with the environmental permitting and planning requirements for a minerals client for the restoration of multiple former open cast coaling sites.
- Advising an energy client on the potential impact of habitats legislation relating to a development consent order for an offshore wind scheme.
- Advising various landlords on the impact of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards.
- Assisting various developers with compliance reviews of environmental statements for submission with planning applications.
Freeths LLP
Freeths LLP is known for its work on complex development sites, handling issues relating to wildlife and the natural environment, water, waste and contaminated land work. The group also assists with permitting matters, environmental crime work, water and ground pollution incidents, transactional mandates and judicial reviews. Team leader Penny Simpson is an all-round environmental lawyer and counts developers, mineral, energy and water companies, charities and public sector bodies among her clients.
Practice head(s):
Penny Simpson
Testimonials
‘Penny Simpson is a well-known name in the environmental world and a go-to practitioner in the field‘.
Key clients
The States of Jersey Government
Howard Sawston Ltd
Naturespace Partnership Ltd
Thatchers Cider Company
Commercial Estates Group Ltd
Affinity Water Ltd
Morris Homes Ltd
Cornwall Council
Work highlights
- Assisting The States of Jersey Government with the content and scope of its draft natural environment legislation.
- Advising Howard Sawston Limited on the risk of liability, remediation and investigation works being made a condition of the planning permissions for a site in Sawston resulting from historic leather processing activities.
- Securing seven protected species licences for Naturespace Partnership Ltd to protect species during the delivery of developments in the South Midlands.
- Reviewing UK environmental legislation for Thatchers Cider Company Limited to inform advice on the regulatory requirements applicable to its operations and ongoing compliance.
- Advising Commercial Estates Group Ltd on the conservation constraints that apply to its planning application strategy for a residential development.
Pinsent Masons LLP
Following the departure of former team head Helen Peters - who left at the beginning of 2019 to join a close nuclear client of the firm - key contacts in Pinsent Masons LLP's Leeds office now include legal director Louise Nahon, who handles environment disputes; Jonathan Riley, who focuses on planning work; and corporate partner Andrew Kerr, who assists with transactional matters. On a national level, the team is notably strong in the nuclear, energy, manufacturing and real estate sectors, acting on permitting work, contaminated land issues, waste management, chemical matters, projects advice and carbon trading work.
Knights plc
Shulmans LLP's practice excels in advisory and contentious work alongside the transactional support it provides to the firm's corporate and real estate teams. The group's contentious expertise encompasses appeals related to permitting applications, noise nuisance abatement notices, defending prosecutions and enforcement notice breaches. The team also has notable knowledge of the manufacturing, waste, chemical, retail, transport and real estate sectors; all are key areas for practice head Lyn Dario. Mark Lumley and Richard Wadkin are also noted for their experience of the retail and transport sectors respectively.
Practice head(s):
Lyn Dario
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Shulmans has knowledge of both legislation and the Environment Agency, which are fundamental to this area of law‘.
‘The team comprises a number of senior experienced lawyers who have cut their teeth on complex projects. Its key strengths are the ability to think strategically, speed of response and a genuine concern to get the best possible outcomes for clients‘.
‘Lyn Dario is passionate about her area of law, has the ability to look at problems holistically and is prepared to go that extra mile to get results‘.
Key clients
H2O Urban (No 2 LLP)
Work highlights
- Advising a joint venture partnership between the Canal & River Trust and bloc, a specialist developer, on environmental issues relating to a site for the development of a waterfront hotel and builders’ merchant.
Walker Morris LLP
At Walker Morris LLP, the 'bright and tenacious' Alison Ogley heads up the civil element of the firm's environmental practice, while Stuart Ponting leads the criminal aspect. The group handles the full range of contentious, non-contentious, civil and, increasingly, criminal environment matters and fields a number of former regulators. Recent expertise includes providing permitting advice and handling enforcement cases, planning-related work, European environmental law matters, High Court claims and biodiversity issues.
Practice head(s):
Alison Ogley; Stuart Ponting
Testimonials
‘The team at Walker Morris is approachable, has first-rate knowledge and always puts the client first‘.
‘Alison Ogley is professional, bright and tenacious. She is a joy to work with and always makes herself available with commercial advice. You would not want her acting on the opposite side‘.
Key clients
Hargreaves Services Plc
Commercial Estates Group
Homes and Communities Agency
FCC Environmental Limited
Taylor Wimpey (Yorkshire) Limited
Rainford Timber Limited
Work highlights
- Acting for a client in a landfill tax dispute with HM Revenue & Customs.
- Advising a client on the appropriate assessment relating to a special area of conservation near its proposed mixed development site.
- Instructed by a client to review an environment statement and an environmental impact assessment on a proposed residential development.
- Defending a client against an abatement notice.
- Advised a client on its liabilities under the waste packaging regulations.