Practice Profile
Stephanie has a busy practice across all of Chambers’ practice areas, including planning, environmental and public law. She regularly appears in court and at inquiries, both in her own right and as junior counsel.
Stephanie has experience representing claimants, defendants, interested parties and interveners in court. She welcomes instructions across all of Chambers’ practice areas.
In appropriate cases, Stephanie is happy to work on a pro-bono basis.
Recent significant cases include:
- Friends of the Earth & Ors v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2024] EWHC 2707 (Admin), on the legality of the third National Adaptation Programme (“NAP3”) under the Climate Change Act 2008 (led by Mark Westmoreland Smith KC alongside Charles Streeten)
- R(Parkes) v Dorset Council [2024] EWHC 1253 (Admin), on the jurisdictional limit of “land” under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (led by Richard Honey KC)
- Darwall v Dartmoor National Park Authority [2023] EWCA Civ 927, which considered whether access to the commons “on foot or on horseback for the purposes of open-air recreation” under the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 includes the right to wild camp (led by Richard Honey KC alongside Ned Westaway and Esther Drabkin-Reiter)
Stephanie has particular experience in cases raising difficult points of public and international law, including principles of statutory interpretation and the application of human rights to environmental law claims.
Recent public law work includes:
- Junior to Mark Westmoreland Smith KC and Charles Streeten in Friends of the Earth & Ors v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2024] EWHC 2707 (Admin), a challenge to the legality of the third National Adaptation Programme (“NAP3”) under the Climate Change Act 2008
- Junior to Richard Honey KC in R(Parkes) v Dorset Council [2024] EWHC 1253 (Admin), a challenge regarding the jurisdictional limit of “land” under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990
- Sole counsel in R(Wesson, Chair of Friends of Mill Road Bridge) v Cambridgeshire County Council [2024] EWHC 1068 (Admin), a challenge to the lawfulness of a traffic regulation order under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984
- Sole counsel in R(Gurajena and Benta v London Borough of Newham [2024] EWHC 1745 (Admin), a challenge to the grant of planning permission in circumstances where plans had been amended following the close of the consultation period
In addition to her court work, Stephanie regularly advises clients on public law matters. Examples of public law issues arising as part of Stephanie’s practice include:
- Adequacy of reasons
- Procedural fairness
- Apparent bias
- Duty of candour and the appropriateness of specific disclosure
- Mistake of fact
- Fair consultation
- The meaning and scope of the public sector equality duty
Stephanie also regularly speaks on public law topics. Recent talks include:
- Disclosure and the duty of candour in judicial review (FTB Public Law webinar, 22 November 2024)
- ADR in Judicial Review (FTB Public Law webinar, 17 February 2025)
Stephanie will be chairing a forthcoming update on judicial review costs and procedures on 4 June 2025 (see FTB’s events page for more details).
Stephanie’s planning practice covers all areas of planning law, including judicial reviews, planning statutory reviews and planning appeals. She also regularly advises clients at all stages of the planning process.
Court work
Stephanie has significant court experience for her year of call, both as sole counsel and as junior counsel. She is also regularly instructed to advise on prospects of success for both claimants and defendants.
Recent or significant planning court cases include:
- R(Parkes) v Dorset Council [2024] EWHC 1253 (Admin), led by Richard Honey KC, which established that the sea bed was not “land” under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990
- R(Gurajena and Benta v London Borough of Newham [2024] EWHC 1745 (Admin), which clarified the meaning of “adjoining” under the DMPO and the requirement to reconsult following the amendment of plans as part of a planning application
Inquiries and hearings
Stephanie is also regularly instructed as sole counsel and as junior counsel in planning appeals and public inquiries. Recent work includes:
- 1 Alie St, Aldgate (2025), a s.78 appeal against the refusal of permission for a change of use of part of a building from Class E use to flexible Class E / Class F1 use (sole counsel)
- Royal Mint Court, London (2025), a public inquiry regarding the redevelopment of Royal Mint Court for use as the new Chinese Embassy (led by Morag Ellis KC)
- Land at Icknield Way and Sears Drive, Tring (2024), a s.78 appeal against the refusal of planning permission for the erection of a Class E discount foodstore at Icknield Way (led by Craig Howell Williams KC)
- Land at the Former Animal Health Trust Research Centre, Kentford (2024), a s.78 appeal against the refusal by West Suffolk Council to grant a certificate of lawful use (led by Douglas Edwards KC)
- 7-15 Blount Street, London (2024) a s.78 appeal against the refusal of planning permission for purpose-built student accommodation (sole counsel)
- Land to the north of Rosthwaite Farm, Windermere (2024), a s.78 appeal against the refusal of planning permission for a farm diversification scheme (sole counsel)
- Land at New Oaks Farm, Ambleside (2023), an enforcement inquiry concerning the alleged unlawful change of use of a caravan to residential use (sole counsel)
Advisory work
Stephanie has a busy advisory practice, covering all aspects of planning law. She has recently advised clients on matters including:
- Changes to a planning permission under s.96A
- The lawful implementation of a planning permission
- Local occupancy conditions
- Costs in planning appeals
- Lawfulness of enforcement action
- Consultation obligations
- Incomplete developments
- Permitted development rights
Prior to becoming a barrister, Stephanie worked as a paralegal at a specialist planning law firm, where she gained exposure to a wide range of planning issues and assisted in the drafting of advice to clients on issues including:
- Implementation and interpretation of planning permissions
- Permitted development rights
- Material changes of use
- Certificates of lawfulness (CLEUDs and CLOPUDs)
- Section 106 agreements
- Enforcement time limits and concealment
Stephanie has a keen interest in the law relating to highways, commons and open spaces, with particular expertise in traffic regulation orders.
Recent or notable cases include:
- Darwall v Dartmoor National Park Authority [2023] EWCA Civ 927 - for the Open Spaces Society, led by Richard Honey KC alongside Ned Westaway and Esther Drabkin-Reiter, successfully arguing that “open-air recreation” under the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 includes wild camping.
- R(Wesson, Chair of Friends of Mill Road Bridge) v Cambridgeshire County Council [2024] EWHC 1068 (Admin) - representing a local group of residents in an ongoing challenge to a traffic regulation order (‘TRO’) under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.
She has a growing practice in public rights of way and has also assisted other members of chambers in areas including:
- The interpretation of “neighbourhood” in the context of a challenge to the de-registration of a town and village green;
- The diversion of bridleways under the Transport and Works Act 1992; and
- The nature and scope of obligations to maintain a bridge under a local Act of Parliament.
Stephanie’s environmental law practice is wide-ranging. From advising individuals concerned with the environmental impacts of local development to representing clients in challenges to government policy, Stephanie has a diverse and growing practice in this area.
She is particularly interested in the overlap between human rights and environmental law, having written on the topic and acting as junior counsel in the first case in which the landmark decision of the European Court of Human Rights, Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz v Switzerland was considered by UK Courts (Friends of the Earth & Ors v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2024] EWHC 2707 (Admin), led by Mark Westmoreland Smith KC, alongside Charles Streeten).
Stephanie regularly advises on the adequacy of Habitat Regulations Assessments and has assisted other members of chambers on matters relating to the nature and scope of riparian rights and the interpretation of animal welfare regulations.
Stephanie writes and speaks on various environmental law issues. She regularly contributes to the FTB Environmental Law Blog and FTB’s Quarterly Environmental Law update. Recent topics have included:
- The implications of the recent High Court decision on the Whitehaven Coal Mine project;
- 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; and
- Specific disclosure in environmental cases.
- Stephanie is a member of UKELA’s Marine Working Party.
Stephanie is developing a solid practice in compulsory purchase and compensation.
She has assisted members of chambers on matters including the promotion of a scheme for compulsory acquisition and representing and objector at a CPO inquiry. Stephanie has also assisted in compensation matters, including experience of early neutral evaluation in a compensation claim.
Recent work includes:
- Junior to Richard Honey KC, alongside Caroline Daly, representing an acquiring authority in a compensation claim
- Junior to Rebecca Clutten, advising a client on the scope of provisions in the Acquisition of Land Act 1981
- Junior to Annabel Graham Paul, acting for an objector to a scheme
Stephanie also assisted with a range of compulsory purchase and compensation matters during her pupillage under the supervision of Rebecca Clutten. These included researching points of law and assisting with the legal review of documents in preparation for a CPO.
Stephanie will be joining Caroline Daly and Daisy Noble on 3 April 2025 at the next London Women in CPO event to provide an update on the Government’s Compulsory Purchase and Compensation reform agenda.
Stephanie has a busy licensing practice and is frequently instructed to represent parties at review hearings for a range of premises, including nightclubs, bars and off-licenses.
Stephanie has been instructed on several matters involving the non-payment of business rates and advising on an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal England on a Council Tax matter.
During her pupillage at Francis Tayor Building, Stephanie assisted on a 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.
- 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)
- A Finch in the coalmine? Friends of the Earth v SoS Levelling Up, Housing and Communities & others [2024] EWHC 2349 (Admin), FTB Environmental Law Blog, 24 October 2024
- 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
Stephanie is fluent in Spanish and French, and speaks conversational Italian
Latest from Stephanie
21
May' 25Supreme Court Hands Down Judgment in Darwall and another v Dartmoor National Park Authority
Today, the Supreme Court handed down its judgment in Darwall and another v Dartmoor National Park Authority [2025] UKSC 20, unanimously dismissing the appeal and upholding the right to wild camp on the Dartmoor Commons.
20
May' 25High Court Rules in Test Case on ‘Overplanting’ of Solar Farms Below 50MW
The High Court yesterday handed down judgment in Ross v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Renewable Energy Systems Ltd [2025] EWHC 1183 (Admin), rejecting the statutory review challenge to an Inspector’s decision to grant planning permission, on appeal, for a 49.9MW solar farm in Nottinghamshire.
11
Apr' 25High Court Clarifies Scope of Use Class E
On 10 April 2025, Mrs. Justice Lang dismissed a claim for planning statutory review brought by West Suffolk Council against a decision of a planning inspector to grant a s.191 certificate of lawful existing use which confirmed that the use made by the Animal Health Trust for research and development and for veterinary clinical services of its former campus in Suffolk fell within Use Class E.
28
Oct' 24High Court Dismisses Challenge to Third National Adaptation Programme
On Friday 25 October, the High Court (Mr Justice Chamberlain) dismissed the application for judicial review brought by Friends of the Earth and others challenging the legality of the third National Adaptation Programme (‘NAP3’), which sets out the actions that government and others will take to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
22
May' 25Reforming the Water Industry: The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025
The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 (‘the Act’) received Royal Assent on 24th February 2025. The Act forms part of the government’s large-scale project to reform the country’s water sector, alongside major investment into the sector and the establishment of the Independent Water Commission, which is due to make its recommendations for a ‘reset’ of the water sector and its regulatory framework in the second quarter of 2025.
24
Oct' 24A Finch in the coalmine? Friends of the Earth v SoS Levelling Up, Housing and Communities & others [2024] EWHC 2349 (Admin)
On 13 September 2024, the High Court quashed the decision to grant planning permission for a new underground coal mine in Whitehaven, Cumbria in the case of Friends of the Earth v SoS Levelling Up, Housing and Communities & others [2024] EWHC 2349 (Admin) (‘Whitehaven’).
20
Feb' 24Specific Disclosure of Ministerial Submissions: the Cumbria Coalmine Case
When is specific disclosure of ministerial submissions appropriate in the context of a section 288 appeal? This was the question with which the court had to grapple in Friends of the Earth Ltd v SSLUHC and others [2023] EWHC 3255 (KB).
20
Dec' 23Habitats Protections Under Fire: Part 2 – The Energy Act 2023
On 26th October 2023, the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 and the Energy Act 2023 received royal assent.[1] Both Acts will implement significant changes to existing environmental law or include powers to do this by way of regulations. In particular, their enactment is likely to result in changes to existing protection under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (the ‘Habitats Regulations 2017’).
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