Matters relating to compulsory purchase and compensation form a considerable part of Caroline’s practice and she is a leading junior in this field. Caroline was first elected to the Compulsory Purchase Association Board in 2020 and was re-elected in 2022 and 2024.

Caroline has experience of acting for both claimants and acquiring authorities in respect of the compulsory purchase process and land valuation and compensation. She also has experience in dealing with blight cases and claims made following the exercise of temporary possession powers. 

Recent or notable CPO promotion and objection work includes:

• Successfully promoting a Highways Act 1980 relief road CPO for Kent County Council;
• Successfully objecting to the LB Harrow Grange Farm Estate CPO on behalf of the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association, which involved dealing with Crown land
• Successfully promoting an estate regeneration CPO on behalf of Slough Borough Council
• Successfully promoting the Aylesbury Estate CPO (as junior to Melissa Murphy KC), an estate regeneration scheme in Southwark
• Advising and acting for a landowner objector, Sahaviriya Steel Industries PLC and a group of Thai Banks, as junior to Richard Glover KC, at the Redcar Steelworks CPO Inquiry

Recent or notable compensation work includes:

• Acting for a HS2 landowner, Curzon Park Ltd, in the Curzon Park v SoSfT CAAD appeal and compensation proceedings, which have so far involved two substantive Tribunal hearings and Court of Appeal and Supreme Court hearings 
• Acting for Thames Water in a Tribunal reference for temporary possession and compulsory acquisition compensation arising from the Thames Tideway Tunnel project
• Acting for the claimant landowners in a compensation claim under the Water Resources Act 1991 in respect of damage caused by flood defence works undertaken by the Environment Agency  
• Acting for Birmingham Airport in a Part I Land Compensation Act 1973 claim (Bennett v Birmingham Airport Ltd [2022] UKUT 228 (LC))
• Successfully resisting a Water Resources Act 1991 compensation claim on behalf of the Environment Agency (Gould v Environment Agency [2023] UKUT 201 (LC))
• Successfully resisting a counter-notice to a blight notice served in respect of a family home blighted by HS2 (Craddock and another v Secretary of State for Transport [2021] UKUT 0002 (LC))
• Acting for the acquiring authority in a reference to the Upper Tribunal regarding a Listed Buildings Act 1990 acquisition of the Grade II* listed Sheerness Royal Dockyard Church 

Caroline is one of the editors of the Compulsory Purchase & Compensation Service (Bloomsbury Professional online) and The Law of Compulsory Purchase (Bloomsbury Professional, 4th edition 2022). 

Caroline’s planning practice covers the full gamut of planning work, including housing schemes, heritage matters, local plans and neighbourhood plans, PD rights, planning obligations and CIL, advertisements, Habitats Regulations Assessments and EIA, and tricky LDC and enforcement matters.  

Caroline’s recent and notable work includes:

• Securing consent following an appeal hearing for a change of use of Bank of America’s former headquarters located in Aldgate and within the Central Activities Zone to a higher education use
• Acting for North Hertfordshire District Council in support of an application for an up to 49.99MW solar farm in the Green Belt at a two week call-in inquiry 
• Acting for the London Borough of Southwark, led by Hereward Phillpot KC, in the public inquiry into the New City Court tall building proposals near London Bridge
• Acting for LB Camden in an appeal recovered by the Secretary of State concerning the conversion of a house in Primrose Hill to a museum dedicated to Dr Ambedkar by the Indian Government
• Appearing for a developer, as junior to Andrew Tait KC, in securing planning permission for over 1100 homes in Essex
• Acting for the Royal Borough of Greenwich, as junior to Melissa Murphy KC, in an appeal recovered by the Secretary of State regarding Charlton Riverside Opportunity Area

Caroline regularly acts in planning statutory challenges and judicial reviews in the High Court. 

With regard to Local Plans, Caroline has experience of both promoting and objecting to plans. She is currently promoting the Dacorum Borough Council Local Plan. Caroline has acted for North Hertfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council, South Gloucestershire Council, North Somerset Council, Bristol City Council, Bath and North East Somerset and the West of England Combined Authority in promoting their development plans. She also has experience of objecting to local plans, including successfully resisting the allocation of a strategic development location in the Eastleigh Local Plan on behalf of a large community group on grounds relating to impact on the River Itchen SAC. She is well versed in all local plan related issues, including the duty to co-operate, OAN and housing requirements, SEA and Habitats Regulation matters, transport and infrastructure issues, viability, and gypsy and traveller accommodation assessments.

In respect of environmental work, Caroline’s experience extends to environmental permitting and the contaminated land regime under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Caroline has been involved in a number of DCOs, both promoting and resisting major infrastructure projects. She is a contributing author to the 'National Infrastructure Planning Handbook', edited by Michael Humphries KC.

Recent or notable work in this area includes:

• Promotion of the National Grid Grimsby to Walpole grid connection
• Acting for National Gas in opposition to the H2 Teesside Hydrogen Production Project (Blue Hydrogen)
• Acting for the London Borough of Bexley in the Cory Riverside Energy Park DCO hearings
• Promotion of the M25 Junction 10/A3 Wisley Interchange Improvement DCO for National Highways
• Advising the Environment Agency on land acquisition powers in DCOs
• Advising the then Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in respect of the suite of new Energy National Policy Statements

Caroline regularly advises ratepayers and local authorities on a wide range of contentious and non-contentious rating matters. She has appeared on many occasions in the Magistrates' Court on rating matters and has advised in relation to issues including the backdating of liability, empty rates relief (specifically Makro schemes), charitable relief, and the setting aside of liability orders.

She also advises on council tax matters. Her experience includes making a successful application to the High Court for the striking out of a statutory appeal made from the Valuation Tribunal regarding council tax liability for students.

Qualifications

• BPTC, Kaplan Law School (2012-2013)
• LLM, University College London (2011-2012)
• BA(Hons), Law with Legal Studies in Europe (Spanish), Pembroke College, University of Oxford (2007-2011)

As part of her undergraduate degree, Caroline participated in the European Erasmus Programme, spending a year studying European, Spanish and Catalan law at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona.

Scholarships

• Phoenicia Scholarship, Bar European Group (2015)
• Princess Royal Scholarship, Inner Temple (2012-2013)
• Arts and Humanities Research Council full Scholarship for LLM at University College London (2011-2012)

Prizes

• Winner, UKELA Lord Slynn of Hadley Senior Moot (2015)
• Martin Wronker Prize for 1st place in Administrative Law finals paper, University of Oxford (2011)
• Littleton Chambers Prize for 1st place in Labour Law finals paper, University of Oxford (2011)
• Exhibitioner, Pembroke College, University of Oxford (2008-2011)
• Lovells Law Prize for High Achievement, Pembroke College, University of Oxford (2008-2009)

Prior to coming to the Bar, Caroline worked as a research assistant and teaching fellow in public law at University College London.

Caroline also spent a year providing legal assistance to the Dame Janet Smith Review, a private review established by the BBC to investigate issues connected with the Jimmy Savile scandal and the culture and practices of the BBC during the period that he worked there.  

Caroline is a member of the following associations:

• Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA)
• Bar European Group (BEG)
• Compulsory Purchase Association (CPA)
• National Infrastructure Planning Association (NIPA)
• Planning and Environmental Bar Association (PEBA)
• UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA)