Kevin Leigh

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Introduction

Kevin has practised as a barrister since 1986 and is a qualified mediator. He joined 33 Bedford Row in 2019 as Head of the Planning, Property, and Environment Group, having previously been a member of the Planning and Chancery groups at No.5 Chambers from 2008.

In addition to being instructed by solicitors and local authorities, Kevin regularly works directly with professional clients and members of the public under the Licensed Access and Direct Public Access schemes.

Outside the Bar, Kevin was planning director of a property development and construction group of companies. He remains involved with property development outside professional work.

Kevin's approach is commercially focused and collaborative. He is able to work hands on with any team to attain the best achievable outcome. He works quickly and strives to add practical and commercial value to any dispute or project. Kevin is always willing to go the extra mile to achieve the right result.  He is available by phone and email to suit the needs of his professional and lay clients.

Practice

Kevin specialises in planning and land law including judicial review. He appears in court and before tribunals as well as in mediations. In addition to all aspects of land development, his work areas include boundary disputes, rights of way, trespass and nuisance, restrictive covenants, hedgerows, high hedges and trees, and connected matters reviewing local authorities’ conduct. Kevin appears at public inquiries and hearings on planning and enforcement appeals as well as development plan examinations; and acts in both the criminal and civil courts in relation to planning and land law cases.

Kevin is instructed in development cases ranging from residential matters (from one-off to estate schemes) through to commercial/industrial sites (such as retail, office, leisure and hotel projects) as well as traveller cases. In disputes involving boundaries and rights of way, he travels throughout England and Wales to give advice and, when necessary, appears in court and mediations. Kevin's clients are individuals, groups, businesses and local authorities. He also has a niche practice in taxi licensing.

Kevin gives talks to audiences of lawyers, other professionals, local authorities and developers on matters related to both substantive and procedural planning law and development issues including preparing for and participating effectively in planning appeals. He also answers practical questions for the LexisNexis website on its property, planning and litigation panels.

In 1985 Kevin graduated from Leicester University. He read law LL.B. (Hons) including planning law and produced a thesis examining airport development with emphasis on London airports following the (then) recent Stansted Airport Inquiry and the report of Graham Eyre QC. The late David Hughes incorporated this into his book Environmental Law (1st ed.) published by Butterworths.

He completed a planning pupillage in 1987 at 2 Mitre Court, Temple (David Widdicombe QC) and became a tenant in Gray’s Inn by the end of 1987 where he developed his own planning practice.

Kevin joined 10 King’s Bench Walk (Simon Goldstein QC) in June 1991 to develop its planning team. In 1998, he was invited to join 6 Pump Court (Stephen Hockman QC) to create a planning and environment group, remaining there until 2007.

He then spent 6 months as planning director of a group of development and construction companies. Kevin was also a founding member of Regency Chambers in Cambridge and Peterborough and a specialist door tenant at Westgate Chambers in Lewes.

Kevin joined No.5 Chambers in 2008 when he returned to fulltime practice as part of its planning/environment and chancery/commercial teams based in London.

In March 2019, Kevin moved to 33 Bedford Row to head up the property, planning and environment group