Stephanie has experience in a range of planning matters for a variety of clients. Stephanie regularly appears in court, inquiries and hearings on planning matters, both in her own right and as junior counsel.

Recent or notable court cases in this area include:

• Acting for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in a challenge to the mooring of the Bibby Stockholm in Portland Harbour, led by Richard Honey KC;
• Acting as sole counsel for Friends of Mill Road Bridge, in an ongoing challenge to a traffic regulation order (TRO) in Cambridge;
• Acting for a claimant in a forthcoming High Court challenge to an inspector’s decision raising several issues of procedural fairness, led by Douglas Edwards KC.

Recent or notable planning appeal work includes:

• Representing the Lake District National Park Authority at an enforcement inquiry concerning the alleged unlawful change of use of a caravan to residential use, raising issues of whether the caravan had become a building and whether there had been concealment of any change of use;
• Representing a local authority at a forthcoming hearing in relation to purpose-built student accommodation;
• Representing a developer at a forthcoming 3-day planning inquiry, led by Douglas Edwards KC;
• Representing a developer at a forthcoming 5-day enforcement inquiry, led by Scott Stemp (of No5 chambers), involving the interpretation of permitted development rights and the scope of a local authority’s PSED.

Stephanie has also advised on a range planning-related issues, including:

• Local occupancy conditions;
• Risk of award of costs in the context of a planning appeal;
• Prospects of successful challenge in context of inconsistencies in approved drawings;
• Lawfulness of enforcement action taken by a local authority;
• The appropriate type of enforcement action in certain circumstances;
• Legal risk in context of failures comply with legislative procedural requirements;
• How best to enforce against potential breaches of planning conditions where a development is partially complete;

During pupillage, Stephanie also assisted her supervisors and other members of chambers on planning judicial review claims and other advisory work.

Prior to becoming a barrister, Stephanie worked as a paralegal at a specialist planning law firm, Town Legal LLP, where she gained exposure to a wide range of planning issues, assisting on advice in a range of areas and issues including:

• Implementation and interpretation of planning permissions;
• Permitted development rights;
• Material changes of use;
• Certificates of lawfulness (CLEUDs and CLOPUDs);
• Section 106 agreements; and
• Enforcement time limits and concealment.

Stephanie has a growing public law practice. Moreover, much of Stephanie’s planning work involves close consideration of public law principles.

Stephanie’s recent or notable public law work includes:

• Acting for the Open Spaces Society, let by Richard Honey KC alongside Ned Westaway and Esther Drabkin-Reiter in the Court of Appeal in Darwall v Dartmoor National Park Authority [2023] EWCA Civ 927, which concerned the meaning of “open-air recreation” under the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 and raises wider issues on the nature of public access to open spaces.
• Advisory work for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as part of a four-counsel team on a matter spanning public, planning and retained EU law.

Examples of public law issues arising in Stephanie’s planning work include:

• The adequacy of reasons in the context of a statutory scheme requiring “a statement of reasons”;
• The procedural propriety of a decision-maker a determining an issue that was common ground between parties to an appeal, without providing an opportunity for those parties to make representations;
• Apparent bias in the context of a decision by a local authority, where two councillors were also members of a local residents group who had an interest in the outcome of the decision;
• The scope of the duty of candour and the appropriateness of specific disclosure;
• Mistake of fact in the context of a factual clarification made by a committee member prior to a tight vote;
• The application of the Gunning principles (setting out the requirements for a fair public consultation); and
•  The meaning and scope of the public sector equality duty in various contexts, including the extent to which equality impact assessments comply with the PSED.

Stephanie has a keen interest in the law relating to highways, commons and open spaces, with particular experience in common land and traffic regulations orders.

Recent and notable cases include representing the Open Spaces Society led by Richard Honey KC alongside Ned Westaway and Esther Drabkin-Reiter in Darwall v Dartmoor National Park Authority [2023] EWCA Civ 927, 

a Court of Appeal challenge concerning the meaning of “open-air recreation” under the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985. In addition, Stephanie is representing a local residents association in their ongoing High Court challenge to a traffic regulation order (TRO).

During pupillage, Stephanie also assisted her pupil supervisors in this area of law, including:

• a case involving interpretation of “neighbourhood” in the context of a challenge to the de-registration of a town and village green;
• providing advice relating to the diversion of bridleways under the Transport and Works Act 1992; and
• Advising on the nature and scope of obligations to maintain a bridge under a local Act of Parliament.

Environment

Stephanie has a particular interest in environmental law and is developing a practice in this area.

During pupillage, Stephanie gained exposure to environmental issues arising in the context of judicial review challenges to planning and infrastructure decisions. She has also assisted Ned Westaway on several environmental law matters including a challenge in relation to the nature and scope of riparian rights and advising on the interpretation of animal welfare regulations.

Stephanie writes and speaks on various environmental law issues as part of her regular contributions to the FTB Environmental Law Blog and FTB’s Quarterly Environmental Law update. Topics include:

The overlap between human rights and environmental law;

Changes to existing habitats protections in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 and the Energy Act 2023;

Specific disclosure in environmental cases

Stephanie is a member of UKELA’s Marine Working Party.

Stephanie has a busy licensing practice and is frequently instructed to represent the Metropolitan Police Service at review hearings for a range of premises.

Recent or notable instructions in this area include representing the Met Police at hearings including:

• An interim steps hearing for EADN London;
• A review hearing for Monak restaurant on Abbey Road;
• A review hearing for the Corin nightclub.

In addition to the above, Stephanie has represented the police at reviews in relation to a variety of other premises, including a petrol station; a community centre and several supermarket/off-licences.

Stephanie has a growing practice in this area, following the completion of pupillage under the supervision of Rebecca Clutten, a leading practitioner in this area.

Recent instructions include:

• Acting for a developer, led by Rebecca Clutten, on a scheme involving the compulsory purchase of land to facilitate the realignment of a highway.
• Acting for a local church, led by Annabel Graham Paul, in relation to an ongoing objection to a scheme.

Stephanie also assisted with a range of compulsory purchase and compensation matters during pupillage under the supervision of Rebecca Clutten. These included researching points of law and assisting with the legal review of documents in preparation for making a CPO.

During pupillage Stephanie assisted on a wide range of rating matters under the supervision of Hugh Flanagan, including assisting with advice on the plant and machinery regulations and researching the scope of the public religious worship exemption.

Stephanie has also been instructed on several matters involving the non-payment of business rates.

• The University of Law, BPC (very competent) (2021)
• University of Oxford, BA Law (Jurisprudence) (First) (2020)
• University College London & SciencesPo Paris, BA European Social and Political Studies: Dual Degree (First) (2016)
   

• Mistress of Moots, The University of Law
• Wilfred Watson Scholarship, Gray's Inn
• Exhibitioner, Merton College, Oxford
• Fowler Prizes for performance in internal examinations, Merton College, Oxford
• Allen & Overy Second Year Law Prize, Merton College, Oxford
• Sessional Prize, University College London

• Winner UKELA Lord Slynn of Hadley (Senior) Moot (2021)
• Winner HSF Disability Mooting Championship: Oxford v Cambridge (2019) 
• Quarterfinalist at the international rounds of the Price Media Law Moot Court, representing University of Oxford (2018-19) 
   

Prior to commencing pupillage, Stephanie worked as a paralegal at Town Legal LLP, researching and assisting with the drafting of advice on planning issues including:

• Implementation of planning permissions;
• Interpretation of a planning permission;
• Permitted Development rights;
• Changes of use;
• Enforcement time limits.

While at Town Legal, Stephanie also worked on two enforcement appeals and a related judicial review challenge, gaining considerable experience in this area. 
 

• Planning and Environmental Bar Association (PEBA)
• Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA)
• UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA)

• Specific Disclosure of Ministerial Submissions: the Cumbria Coalmine Case, FTB Environmental Law Blog, 20 February 2024
• Habitats Protections Under Fire: Part 2 – The Energy Act 2023, FTB Environmental Law Blog, 20 December 2023
• Habitats Protections Under Fire: Part 1 – the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023, FTB Environmental Law Blog, 1 December 2023
• Darwall v Dartmoor: open-air recreation re-defined?, FTB Environmental Law Blog, 21 March 2023
• Torres Strait Islanders Decision: Admissibility, Article 6 and Adaptation, FTB Environmental Law Blog, 19 January 2023
• Book review “Dina Lupin Townsend: Human Dignity and the Adjudication of Environmental Law”, (2020) 121 UKELA E-Law 21
• ‘Open Doors and How to Shut Them: Omissions Liability for Public Authorities’ (2020) 9 OUULJ 55

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