There are areas of law which are key to driving the development of public law principles and practice. Planning and environmental law is one of them. There is political, economic, social and legal focus on the area. It affects us all.
The last year has seen real change in cases such as the Swiss Senior Women human rights claim, with their standing being recognised in a way which is novel. That was a climate change case, but what of the extension of those principles to other areas? Domestically, the Supreme Court has reversed the Court of Appeal by adopting a strongly purposive approach to interpreting the law on the emissions from major development (Finch). Are there judicial trends, or are claims becoming better focussed?
A populous country with a big need for housing and better infrastructure needs both careful and efficient decisions and a proper opportunity to challenge their lawfulness. But what is the right balance? Last year, Lord Banner KC published the report of his independent review into legal challenges against Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects and in February 2025, the government published its planning reform working paper: Streamlining Infrastructure Planning.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is a key piece of the Government’s agenda for this Parliament. It includes a clause to cut back the number of opportunities for a claimant to seek permission to apply to challenge the lawfulness of major infrastructure projects. Is this justified? If it is justified, why not look to applying the same rules to all types of judicial review and statutory challenges?
All parties are interested in costs. How does the claimant get reasonable access to the court, and in respect of what type of case? Even within the last month, the point has been the subject of detailed consideration by the Court of Appeal (Global Feedback). How does the fact that many challenges to development are not environmental claims affect what the parties chose to argue and what are the strategic positions which parties will adopt?
With much political focus on the sector, this panel session will consider the evolving approaches in policy and law to both promote development of housing and infrastructure and the mechanisms most frequently litigated with a view to environmental protection. The panel will look at the interactions which are evident in the development of public law practice and procedure.
Richard Kimblin KC specialises in planning, environment and public law and appears in respect of development and environmental issues for government, developers, and planning authorities having been instructed in some of the leading environmental court cases. Richard is speaking at planning for development and the environment – impacts on public law at Bar Conference.