Expert and commercial environmental and sustainability advice

The Contaminated Land Regime can be complicated. Our specialist environmental lawyers have in-depth knowledge of this area of law, and considerable experience with providing strategic and clear advice on all transactional and regulatory issues. Our expertise includes advising on contaminated land issues affecting real estate and corporate transactions, overcoming environmental constraints to planning applications, defending regulatory enforcement action and limiting exposure during investigations, representing businesses and individuals during disputes, and advising funders on limiting their contaminated land liabilities.

We advise businesses on all aspects of the environmental permitting regime. Our advice includes permit applications, suspensions, transfers, permit conditions, appeals, and dealing with enforcement action.

Our Environment Team advises developers, funders, contractors, sellers, purchasers and occupiers, public bodies, local authorities, utilities, and all sectors of corporates through the myriad of environmental law and regulation. We advise on how to best manage environmental liabilities and risk, and present tailored and commercial solutions that work for you, to ensure your regulatory compliance. We also advise on prosecutions for criminal offences, confiscation of the proceeds of environmental offences, and civil sanctions.

We have the expertise to advise on all aspects of the water regime. We advise clients on Drought Orders, trade effluent discharge licences, and water abstraction licenses. We can also assist with dredging and exempt flood risk activities, inland drainage enforcement and powers of entry and scope of works.

Waste management issues can often arise for businesses and during property transactions, and we have a particular specialism advising on this area. We advise on the waste regime and hierarchy, and can assist with interpretation and application of waste regulations. Our team also advises on nationally significant energy from waste projects, acting for major waste authorities and developers.

As an environmental law firm, we advise on air quality, emissions and climate change issues for government bodies, the transport sector, local authorities, and businesses. Our specialist lawyers also represent promoters in relation to Development Consent Order (DCO) applications and various court challenges in this regard.

The need for green energy requires innovative technical, commercial and legal solutions. The renewable energy and utilities sector can benefit from our pragmatic legal advice on a range of energy projects, issues, obligations and liabilities. Our Environmental Team represents a diverse client base, including developers and objectors alike on all scales of solar, wind, energy from waste, water (including tidal power), and battery storage projects. Our Cardiff office for example advised on the Tidal Lagoon project. Our planning lawyers also provide specialist legal advice on the planning aspects of energy projects.