Practice Profile
Philip Petchey enjoys unravelling what is complicated, obscure or dense (or all three) and his practice affords him the opportunity of doing so. Thus in R (Newhaven Port and Properties) v East Sussex County Council it was necessary to investigate the law relating to access to the seashore going back to Bracton as well as the power of a corporation in Scotland to grant a servitude, In Evans v Wimbledon and Putney Conservators he had to consider not only the powers of the Conservators under an obscure act of 1871 but also how those powers had been exercised in providing access to a hospital built on an island in the common. In In re St Stephen Walbrook the history of the installation of a painting by Benjamin West in the church in the eighteenth century had to be investigated as well as the circumstances of it being moved in the nineteenth century and removed in the twentieth. And so on. A grasp of the foundations in fact and law of the case under consideration cannot ensure success, but experience shows that it is a good starting point.
- In re St John the Baptist, Penshurst (Court of Arches)
- R (Newhaven Port and Properties) v East Sussex County Council (Supreme Court)
- In re St Stephen Walbrook (Consistory Court of London)
- Evans v Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators (Court of Appeal)
- Paddico (267) Limited v Kirklees MBC (Supreme Court)
- R (Barkas) v North Yorkshire County Council (Supreme Court)
- Oxfordshire County Council v Oxford City Council and Robinson (House of Lords)
- R (Beresford) v Sunderland City Council (House of Lords)
- Butler v Derby City Council (Divisional Court) (advertisements and human rights)
- Cheltenham Builders v South Gloucestershire Council (High Court) (village greens)
- R. v Sevenoaks District Council, ex parte Palley (High Court) (decision of local authority not to serve an enforcement notice subject to judicial review)
- Dunster v First Secretary of State (Court of Appeal) (reasons for planning decision)
- R. v Ecclesiastical Committee of the Houses of Parliament, ex parte Church Society (legal challenge to ordination of women)
- R. v Bishop of Stafford, ex parte Owen (judicial review of decision of Bishop not to renew term of office of team vicar)
- Gill v Davies (injunction to restrain ordination contrary to canon law)
- Barnes v Derby Diocese Board of Finance (powers of Church Commissioners under the Pastoral Measures)
- In re Blagdon Cemetery (Court of Arches) (exhumation)
- Meddick v Shiplake Parish Council (Reading County Court) (whether requirement to maintain fencing under enclosure award capable of enforcement)
Philip Petchey has always sought to maintain a broad practice, spanning many areas of Chambers experise. So in planning he appeared in a broad range of cases ranging from a statue of St Walter Raleigh to a superstore. He appeared for Eurotunnel in the promotion of the Channel Tunnel and then for the Government in the promotion of the High Speed Rail Link. He appeared for Network Rail on its proposals to enhance the Thameslink service.
Recently a lot of his practice has concerned town and village greens. There have been seven cases concerning town and village greens in the House of Lords/Supreme Court and he has appeared in five of them. He appeared for the Open Spaces Society as intervener in the litigation over the skateboard park beneath the Queen Elizabeth Hall. He advises and appears in footpath cases; these raise many of the same issues as village greens and are also decided within the framework of a complicated statutory code overlaid upon complicated common law provisions.
He regularly advises on and appears in ecclesiastical cases, both those concerning alterations to churches and also clergy discipline.
Human rights law impinges on all the areas on which he advises and, from time to time, he has had to advise on difficult applications of the Convention to fields in which he practices.
- MA (Oxon)
- Chancellor of the Diocese of Southwark
Latest from Philip
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Apr' 26Four Members of Chambers Included in the Pro Bono Recognition List of England and Wales 2026
Chambers is delighted that Jeremy Phillips KC, Philip Petchey, Esther Drabkin‑Reiter and Claire Nevin have all been included in the Pro Bono Recognition List of England and Wales in recognition of their dedication to providing pro bono services.
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Feb' 26Tribunal Rules That Neighbourhood Forums Subject to Environmental Regulations 2004
The First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) has ruled that a Neighbourhood Forum is a public authority and thus subject to the Environment Information Regulations 2004. Neighbourhood Forums are voluntary associations established under the Localism Act 2011 which prepare (but do not make) neighbourhood plans.
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Oct' 25Chambers and Partners 2026 Rankings
We are pleased to again be recognised as a leading set for Planning, Environment, Licensing, Rating & Valuation, Ecclesiastical, Local Government and Agriculture & Rural Affairs. We are also delighted to have received 60 individual rankings including 32 for planning.
04
Sep' 25Publication of The NPPF Handbook Today
Chambers is pleased to note the publication of The NPPF Handbook today.
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Feb' 26Does a River Have Rights?
One of the publishing successes of 2025 was Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane. But what relevance does the question have for lawyers? In this blog post Philip Petchey reflects on the book and explores that question by reference to a number of recent legal developments, including the Charter for the River Ouse that was addressed in a 2025 ELB post.
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