Francis Taylor Building

Arbitration Early Netural Evaluation Expert Determination

Guy Roots KC is an Associate Member of Chambers and is available for appointment as an arbitrator or mediator, to conduct early neutral evaluations or to provide expert determinations.

Guy Roots retired as a practising member of the Bar in April 2021 having specialised in town and country planning, environment, compulsory purchase and compensation, rating and valuation, and other local government and administrative law subjects with a wide range of clients including companies, public utilities, local authorities, government and other agencies and individuals. He appeared in a wide variety of Courts and Tribunals including public inquiries, arbitrations, the Lands Tribunal, the Upper Tribunal, the High Court, Court of Appeal and House of Lords His practice extended to Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla.

After reading law at Oxford (MA), Guy Roots was called to the Bar by Middle Temple in 1969 and became a KC in 1989. Prior to 2004, he was a member of chambers at 2, Mitre Court Buildings which was one of the leading sets specializing in Local Government including planning, environment, rating and Parliamentary Bills. In 2004, he joined 2, Harcourt Buildings which in 2007 moved to, and became known as, Francis Taylor Building.

His planning practice encompassed a broad range and scale of matters including housing, retail, regeneration, development in the greenbelt, new country houses, heliports and wind farms. He became particularly well known for his expertise in relation to major projects such as Heathrow Terminal 5, the regeneration of Greenwich Peninsula, the Maidenhead and Windsor Flood Relief Scheme (the Jubilee River) and the decommissioning of Trawsfynydd Nuclear Power Station.

Guy Roots KC became one of the leading experts in compulsory purchase having acted in numerous cases for both acquiring authorities and landowners. He acted for the acquiring authority (the London Development Agency) in relation to the compulsory purchase of 300 hectares for the London Olympic Games 2012. He also became one of the leading experts on the assessment of compensation for compulsory purchase and other forms of statutory compensation (such as wayleaves for electricity transmission lines). He appeared in numerous leading compensation cases in the Lands Tribunal, Upper Tribunal and Court of Appeal, several of which arose out the acquisition of land for the Olympic Games and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1).

Guy Roots KC has appeared in many of the leading rating cases, and in particular cases involving valuation for rating. In addition to appearing in the Lands Tribunal, Court of Appeal and House of Lords in such cases, he has also appeared in the Hong Kong Lands Tribunal and Court of Appeal in a number of significant rating matters.

Guy Roots was Editor of ‘Ryde on Rating’ prior to 1990 when it became a looseleaf work ‘Ryde on Rating and the Council Tax’ for which he was the General Editor until 2018. Between 2000-2019, he was the principal author and General Editor of the looseleaf work ‘The Compulsory Purchase and Compensation Service’ initially published by Butterworths, now published by Bloomsbury Professional, and he remains Consultant Editor. He was also General Editor of the first three editions of the single volume work ‘The Law of Compulsory Purchase and Compensation’, published by Bloomsbury Professional, and remains Consultant Editor of that work also.

Between 1991-1998, he was an Assistant Recorder of the Crown Court. He was elected a Bencher of Middle Temple in 2000. He was Chairman of PEBA (the Planning and Environment Planning Bar Association) 2000-2004. He was an Assistant Boundary Commissioner for the Reviews of the Parliamentary Boundaries in 2005 and 2013.

Called 1969; Middle Temple; Harmsworth scholar; took silk 1989; Bencher, Middle Temple. Publications of note: general editor ‘Ryde on Rating and the Council Tax’ and general editor ‘Compulsory Purchase and Compensation Service’, published by Bloomsbury Professional.

Past chairman of the Planning and Environment Bar Association (PEBA) (2000-2004).  Member of Compulsory Purchase Association and the National Infrastructure Planning Association.  Member of the DETR's Compulsory Purchase Policy Review Advisory Group.  Assistant Boundary Commissioner.

Winchester College; Brasenose College, Oxford (MA Jurisprudence).