Barristers at Six Pump Court are acknowledged to be at the forefront of environmental law, particularly in the field of prosecuting and defending environmental cases in the criminal courts and cases involving statutory and nuisance. The combined experience of our environmental law barristers cover every aspect of this highly specialist, complex and ever-changing area of practice, at all levels of seniority and experience.
“High-calibre set with a fantastic track record of representing local authorities, developers and regulators in environmental cases.”
Chambers UK Bar Guide 2018 (Band 1 – Environment)
“Six Pump Court is ‘the best regulatory chambers in the UK and remains the professionals’ choice’.
Members continue to be at the forefront of Supreme Court and Court of Appeal cases and also act for major developers, waste industry clients and regulators, as well as appearing on Attorney General’s lists.”
Legal 500 2017 (Tier 1 – Environment)
“It is particularly highly esteemed in the areas of statutory nuisance and environmental tort, and offers “a great spread of skill across all levels of seniority.” Observers note that it is an outstanding set for flood management and species protection cases, and further admire it for its representation of clients in matters concerning climate change, emissions trading, waste and pollution.”
Chambers UK Bar Guide 2017 (Band 1 – Environment)
“6 Pump Court is ‘excellent’ for environmental work, ‘especially on waste crime and water pollution’ matters. Members advised the French Ministry of Ecology on the recent climate change agreement, and were involved in Coventry v Lawrence and several major environmental judicial reviews. The clerks ‘never disappoint – they are utterly professional, engaging and proactive in the service they provide.”
Legal 500 2016 (Tier 1 – Environment)
Our specialist experience covers every aspect of the European and domestic law concerning the regulation of the environment, which includes environmental permitting and regulation of waste, wastewater, pollution prevention and control, water resources, water quality, fisheries, contaminated land, nuclear installations and hazardous substances. Members of our environmental law team are instructed regularly to advise and appear in cases involving environmental assessment, energy and resources, statutory and common law nuisance, utilities and access to environmental information.
Our environmental law barristers continue to act in leading cases in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and the High Court, whilst also representing industry and regulators at public inquiries and statutory appeals. Members appear regularly in the criminal courts and are involved in the more complex cases, acting for major developers, the waste industry and regulators. A large number of members were appointed to the List of Specialist Regulatory Advocates in Environmental Law, five to the “A” List, please click here to view the full list.
Please use the links below to view the full range of our expertise in the areas of Environmental Law:
Six Pump Court is highly regarded as a specialist Chambers in environmental regulation, due to the recognised knowledge and abilities of its regulatory team. Led by Stephen Hockman QC, our team has the depth and expertise necessary to handle any and all environmental cases, whether that be coherent, clear advice during the early stages of a criminal investigation, outstanding skilled advocacy in Court or tactical intelligent representation in judicial review proceedings.
Notable recent environmental regulation work includes:
Members of the Planning and Environmental team are widely acknowledged for their expertise and experience in European and domestic law relating to environmental assessment. This includes cases involving Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of development projects and proposes, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of plans and programmes and Habitats Regulation Assessments.
A significant proportion of environmental assessment work arises in the context of planning law and practice, both in respect of development management decisions, plan making and the delivery of infrastructure.
Notable recent environmental assessment work includes:
Members of Six Pump Court have experience of working for and against developers of power stations, wind turbines and various other energy providers.
Notable recent work includes:
The de-nationalisation of utilities has led to the creation of a raft of industry-specific measures, quite independent from safety and competition regulation, to protect consumers from potential misuses of monopolies and near-monopolies. Members of 6 Pump Court have extensive experience of construing legislation of this type and dealing with enforcement bodies. Several members of chambers have recently acted for OFGEM in separate proceedings against SSE and Scottish Power for mis-selling. These proceedings have resulted in a fine of £10.5m against SSE and an agreed settlement figure of £8.5m in the case of Scottish Power. These cases involved numerous and complex issues concerning the interpretation of the applicable licence conditions, issues of attribution, whistleblower evidence, matters relating to disclosure and the appropriate approach to penalty in cases of widespread and systemic mis-selling.
The Environmental Law team at Six Pump Court chambers boasts particular expertise in the field of nuisance law with members of chambers having played a pivotal role in some of the leading recent authorities on nuisance.
Common law nuisance
Statutory nuisance
Members of the Environmental Law team are highly experienced in cases involving the service of abatement notices in respect of the statutory nuisances under Part III of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 covering a wide range of statutory nuisances. We are regularly instructed by local authorities, appellants and defendants in appeals against abatements notices and the prosecution of the offences for contravening or failing to comply with the requirement.
Statutory rights of access to environmental information are an important consideration for many participants in planning or environmental cases. Similarly, responding to requests for information in a lawful and appropriate manner is an important role for all local authorities with responsibility for regulating the environment and land-use planning.
Members of our Planning and Environmental team have significant expertise and experience in the complex legislative provisions relating to access to environmental information and the related freedom of information provisions. Members of chambers advise and appear on behalf of both parties on a regular basis on these matters.
Recent notable work includes:
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