Landmark Chambers

Paul's practice covers planning and environmental, public and local government law.

His clients include national and regional housebuilders and other developers, local planning authorities, central government, environmental groups such as Friends of the Earth and private individuals. He has extensive experience in the High Court and Court of Appeal, as well as at Public Inquiries and Hearings.

Recent, high profile cases include:

RAF Scampton and RAF Wethersfield: instructed by the Secretary of State for the Home Department in defending the challenges to the use of these two sites to house asylum seekers

Ashchurch Rural Parish Council v. Tewkesbury Council: instructed by the appellant in the Court of Appeal hearing on this successful challenge to the Environmental Impact Assessment of the “bridge to nowhere”

Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities v. Smith: instructed by PINS in the Court of Appeal in this challenge to the use of Appeal Planning Officers to assist Inspectors in making appeal decisions

West Cumbria Coal Mine: instructed by Friends of the Earth in their objection (on climate change grounds) to the development of a new coal mine in Cumbria.  Appeared at the inquiry in 2021, and instructed in the subsequent High Court challenge

R (Rights:Community:Action) v. Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: instructed by the claimant in the widely publicised challenge to the amendments to the General Permitted Development Order and the Use Classes Order, which introduced new permitted development rights to build upwards and the new Use Class E.

Westferry Printworks: instructed by Westferry Developments Ltd to promote the redevelopment of this site near Canary Wharf to provide 1524 new homes in 5 stepped towers.

Rother Valley Railway CPO: instructed by local landowners to object to the compulsory purchase of their land to extend the route of a heritage steam railway.

Paul’s recent local plan work includes Mid-Sussex Site Allocations DPD (for the LPA); St Albans Local Plan and Maidstone Borough Local Plan (acting for supporting developers);  Tandridge Local Plan and Tunbridge Wells Local Plan (acting for objectors).

Before taking silk in 2009, Paul was a member of the Treasury A Panel, where he acted for a wide range of government departments including DCLG, DEFRA, the Ministry of Justice, the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Education. In 2014, he was the legal adviser to the Committee on the Review of Planning Guidance, led by Lord Taylor.  A member of the Joint Planning Law Committee responsible for organising the Oxford Planning Conference for more than 10 years, he chaired the Planning and Environmental Bar Association and was Joint Head of Landmark Chambers between 2019 and 2022.

• LLB (Hons) (1st Class); Gold Medal in Law: University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand (1982-1985)

• PhD; Tapp Scholar, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (1986-1989)