Richard Honey

Administrative and public law Environmental Compulsory purchase and land valuation Planning Local government Agriculture and Rural Affairs Arbitration

Richard Honey KC practises as a barrister in the fields of public law and environmental law, with particular specialisms in judicial review and similar statutory challenges, infrastructure projects, compulsory purchase and compensation, and climate change and ESG litigation. He is called to the Bars of England and Wales and Northern Ireland. Richard appears most frequently in the Administrative / Planning Court and in the Upper Tribunal Lands Chamber. He is also an experienced appellate advocate, having appeared in the Court of Appeal 21 times, including 16 appearances as lead/sole counsel, and in the Supreme Court four times. Until he took Silk, he was a member of the Attorney General’s A Panel of junior counsel to the Crown, having spent some 12 years on the AG’s panels in total.

Richard has been ranked as a leading barrister in four separate fields in both the Chambers UK Bar Guide and Legal 500: local government; environment; planning; and, agriculture and rural affairs. He was the environment/planning junior barrister of the year at the Chambers UK Bar Awards in 2018 (nominated in 2016 also) and was nominated for planning and land use Silk of 2023 in the Legal 500 Bar awards.

In environmental law, Richard has since 2010 been ranked as a leading barrister by both Chambers and Legal 500.

In planning law, Richard has been ranked as a leading barrister by both Chambers (since 2012) and Legal 500 (since 2008). Prior to taking Silk, he was regularly ranked in the top 10 highest rated planning junior barristers in the Planning magazine survey and was ranked top of Band 1 in Chambers 2020 and the 2021 Legal 500. As a Silk, Richard was ranked in the top 30 highest rated planning Silks by Planning magazine in 2022. He is also ranked by Planning magazine as a leading barrister for infrastructure planning.

Richard has also been ranked by Chambers in local government (2014-2015, 2019-2022) and in agriculture and rural affairs (2015-2022), and by the 2023 Legal 500 in local government and agriculture.

Called to the Bar of England and Wales (2003; QC 2021) Called to the Bar of Northern Ireland (2013) Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Called to the Bar of England and Wales (2003; Silk 2021) Called to the Bar of Northern Ireland (2013)

Richard was the planning decisions editor of the Journal of Planning & Environmental Law from 2009 to 2016 and an editor of the Planning Appeal Decisions (Sweet & Maxwell) from 2004 to 2012.

Although he is clerked exclusively through FTB, Richard holds an associate tenancy at KBW Chambers in Leeds, to assist his work for clients in the north and north-east of England. Richard is a member of the Northern Ireland Bar Library in Belfast.