Sarah has senior experience of working with local authorities and developers in all areas of planning development and enforcement.
She regularly appears at planning inquiries, hearings, prosecutions and appeals, including in the High Court, relating to all aspects of planning development, enforcement and regulatory matters. Sarah is repeatedly rated as a “fighter” in this area of the law, and has an impressive track record.
Sarah has an extensive practice, including large scale housing proposals involving environmental, flooding and highway issues; retail development including major supermarkets; heritage assets; major waste & recycling facilities, and cases with complex policy points. She has particular experience of housing land supply issues. She is regularly instructed in planning challenges in the High Court.
Sarah is a specialist in urban regeneration, and has an extensive national overview of how to manage urban development in proximity to the night time economy. She is an expert in acoustic assessments and the impact of noise.
Sarah is the foremost expert in the cross-over between planning and licensing and a leading national pioneer in the Agent of Change principle. Sarah chaired the Licensing & Planning workshops co-hosted by the Institute of Licensing and the Home Office in 2019, and wrote the Report that followed. Sarah reprised her 2017 role as specialist adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee when they reconvened in 2022, to examine the effects of their recommendations on the relationship between planning, licensing and Agent of Change.
