Robbie Owen

Planning and environment; energy and infrastructure.

Partner of Pinsent Masons LLP and head of infrastructure planning and government affairs. Robbie has over 25 years’ experience of promoting and opposing a wide range of nationally significant and major transport and other infrastructure projects for public and private sector clients, including in the heavy and light rail, urban transit, roads, ports and harbours, water and waterways sectors. He is also a “Roll A” parliamentary agent: one of a small number of practising lawyers authorised by the Westminster Parliament to act as agent for those promoting and opposing private and hybrid bills in Parliament. Most of his work relates to the planning and consenting process for large infrastructure projects, whether through development consent orders, transport and works act orders, parliamentary bills or other means. Recent and current cases include: promoting all powers and consents necessary for the £1bn extension of the northern line to Battersea, for Transport for London; promoting all powers and consents necessary for the £1bn proposed Silvertown Tunnel, for Transport for London; promoting all powers and consents necessary for the £1.5bn A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme for Highways England; advising 30 interests on the HS2 Phase 1 Hybrid Bill including the Mayor of London, Transport for London, Centro, Heathrow Express, various London Borough councils and other local authorities, and numerous commercial property investors and developers. Robbie is a board member and secretary of the National Infrastructure Planning Association. He also holds prominent roles across a number of other industry bodies. He is widely regarded as one of the top five UK infrastructure planning lawyers in the market and was recognised in Planning magazine’s ‘Planning Power 100’ list in 2013. Since 2013 he has been supporting the Armitt Infrastructure Review, including by drafting the Draft Bill published by Sir John Armitt in July 2014.

Malvern College (1983); University of London (1986 BA Law and Politics); The College of Law, Guildford (1987).