Richard Banwell was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn in 1998, joining Chambers in January 2000 from a career as an in-house legal adviser with the Environment Agency’s Head Office legal team, which included a nine month secondment as a regional prosecutor. He has an LLB (Hons) in law from the Liverpool John Moores University and an LLM in Commercial Law from the University of Bristol. 

He is a barrister with extensive experience in all areas of planning and environmental law regularly appearing in Public Inquiries, the High Court and the Crown Court on regulatory matters. He regularly advises developers, local planning authorities and the Environment Agency in connection with each regime and has particular experience of cases where the two intersect. His practice includes all aspects of the European dimension of environmental law and the implementing domestic legislation. 

Richard is experienced in associated judicial review proceedings and statutory challenges, Health & Safety and all aspects of local government law with particular specialisms in taxi licensing and street trading law. 

Richard Banwell was appointed Junior Counsel to the Crown in September 2002 and is currently on the ‘B’ Panel. He prosecutes regularly for the Environment Agency and local authorities. He is a member of the Planning and Environment Bar Association, the UK Environmental Law Association and the Environmental Law Foundation. Richard Banwell is recommended as a leading barrister for environment in Chambers & Partners 2009. He is currently instructed by the Environment Agency in respect of the call-in Inquiry into Thames Water’s Water Resource Management Plan and in relation to a two week Crown Court trial concerning the mis-management of clinical waste.

Cases of interest include:

• West Berkshire District Council v Simon Paine [2009] EWHC 422 (Admin) (Street trading – definition of a street)
• R (on the application of Etherton) v Hastings Borough Council [2009] EWHC 235 (Judicial Review – planning decision – procedural irregularity regarding Council’s Planning Protocol)
• Represented Westminster City Council and The Royal Parks at the No.1 & No.20 Blackfriars Road Inquiry, (2008 – call-in Inquiry into two tall building proposals affecting protected views across St James’ Park)
• Hillingdon Borough Council v (1)Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and (2)Autodex Limited [2008] JPL 1486 (S.288 challenge – lawful development certificate and effect of s.57(4) TCPA 1990)
• CDC2020 Plc v Ferreira [2005] EWCA Civ 611 (Abandonment of right of way by development over dominant tenement)
• R (on the application of Paul Rackham Limited) v Swaffham Magistrates’ Court and the Environment Agency [2004] EWHC 1417 (Admin) (Definition of waste and abuse of process)
• Clingham v. Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea [2001] EWCA Admin 582 and [2002] UKHL 39 (Challenge to an application for an anti-social behaviour order under Article 6 ECHR).