Upcoming Events
Join Young UKELA next Monday for the first in a series of ‘Fireside Chats’ between junior and more experienced practitioners, where they will answer questions and share insights about their professional experiences from their different perspectives.
The inaugural event will be held at Cornerstone Barristers, Gray’s Inn, London, and will feature a conversation between Mr Justice Dove, a High Court Judge of the King’s Bench Division and Verity Bell, a junior barrister who recently completed pupillage at Cornerstone Barristers.
The chat will be followed by drinks at the Bridge Bar, Gray’s Inn.
Is there something you’ve always wanted to ask about working in environmental law? If so, please do send your questions by Friday 2 December to info@ukela.org or via our social media channels on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
And don’t forget to register here by Friday 2 December too!
When: Monday 5 December 2022, 18:20 – 19:30
Where: Cornerstone Barristers, 2–3 Gray’s Inn Square, London, WC1R 5JH
How much:
- UKELA members £5
- Non-members £10
- Students/unwaged – limited free places
Inclusive Spaces: Disability-Inclusive Design for Climate Resilient Cities
Disabled people are more likely to be impacted by the climate crisis and disasters, but design solutions and processes still often lack accessibility, and don’t meaningfully include disabled people in the design of a resilient future. This needs to change.
In this event, The Bartlett School of Planning will be joined by global experts, who will share how the climate crisis is impacting disabled people, and what disability-inclusive and resilient solutions might look like. Speakers will share evidence from the UK Aid funded AT2030 programme, demonstrating the need for inclusive design to create climate resilience and sustainability. They will especially focus on case studies from inclusive cities in the Global South.
This online sesssion will be led by The Bartlett Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) group, as part of their Inclusive Spaces monthly series, presenting the latest ideas and research on how disability, race, gender, LGBTQ+ and many other dimensions of diversity intersect with built environments around the world.
Where: Online
When: 14 December 2022, 1:00 pm–2:00 pm
How much: Free, but book your place here.
Key judgments and decisions
(Suffolk Energy Action Solutions SPV Ltd) v The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [2022] EWHC 2623 (Admin) (06 October 2022)
The High Court dismissed a renewed application for permission for judicial review against two development consent orders issued by the Secretary of State on 31 March 2022, permitting the construction of two offshore wind farms off the coast of East Anglia.
The Claimants sought permission on 10 separate grounds, but the essence of their case was that agreements entered into between the interested parties (developers) and local landowners had created a so-called “chilling effect” on the planning process and prevented landowners making submissions to the examining authority. In finding against the Claimant on all grounds, the judge concluded that the their case was founded on no more than speculation and upon analysis was “in the nature of a straw man”.
Harris & Anor v The Environment Agency [2022] EWHC 2606 (Admin) (18 October 2022) – Remedies
This judgment follows on from the substantive judgment in this case which was handed down in September. Mr and Mrs Harris won their judicial review case against the Environment Agency (EA), after Mr Justice Johnson held that the EA had acted unlawfully by limiting its investigation into the impact of water abstraction licences to three sites in a special area of conservation (SAC) on the Norfolk Broads. The present judgment dealt with what the remedy should be. The Claimants sought a mandatory order compelling the EA to comply with its obligations in future and setting out specific actions it should take in a draft order. The EA resisted, submitting that the earlier judgment itself was remedy enough. Mr Justice Johnson held that the Claimants were entitled to a proper remedy in the form of a mandatory order, but also that it was not for the courts to dictate to the EA how it should perform its legal obligations.
The final form order was: “The defendant shall, by 4pm on 7 December 2022, provide to the claimants details of the measures it intends to take to comply with its duties under Article 6(2) of the Habitats Directive (“Art 6(2)”) in respect of The Broads Special Area of Conservation. The details shall include an indication as to the time by which the defendant intends to have completed those measures. It shall also include, so far as practicable, the scientific and technical basis for the defendant’s assessment of the measures that are necessary to comply with Art 6(2).”
Wild Justice v The Water Services Regulation Authority [2022] EWHC 2608 (Admin) (18 October 2022)
Mr Justice Bourne refused permission for the Claimant campaign group to apply for judicial review of alleged failures by Ofwat to discharge its obligations under the Urban Waste Water Treatment (England and Wales) Regulations 1994, concerning the responsibilities of sewerage companies. The Claimant contended that the Ofwat had unlawfully taken “an entirely passive stance” in respect of its obligations and had “misdirected itself in law that its regulatory obligations can be discharged by reference to data collected by the EA and steps taken to investigate breaches of environmental permits”. Bourne J held that Ofwat was taking investigation and enforcement steps in respect of sewerage companies concerning their responsibilities under the Regulations, and that the Claimant’s case that it was taking “an entirely passive stance” was not arguable. Nor was it arguable that Ofwat had misdirected itself in law as to the relevance of data from the Environment Agency concerning sewerage companies’ compliance with their environmental permits.
Protest cases
There have been several cases related to environmental protests in the courts this year, both criminal and civil. In the last few months, seven health professionals and Extinction Rebellion protesters were acquitted at City of London Magistrates’ Court on 15 November after facing a charge of breaching Section 14 of the Public Order Act, after they blocked Lambeth Bridge during a protest. Meanwhile, on 22 November, two Just Stop Oil activists were convicted of criminal damage to the frame of a Van Gogh painting, to which they had glued themselves, at Westminster Magistrates Court.
On the civil side, in Esso Petroleum Company Ltd v Breen & Ors [2022] EWHC 2664 (KB) (21 October 2022), Esso successfully applied to extend an interim injunction against protesters to stop them interfering with the construction of an oil pipeline from its refinery at Fawley, Southampton, to Heathrow Airport.
Planning appeal decision – The Tulip
The Secretary of State’s decision to dismiss the appeal against refusal for The Tulip (dated 11 November 202120) recorded his view that the proposal was “a scheme with very high embodied energy and an unsustainable whole life-cycle” and that “the extensive measures that would be taken to minimise carbon emissions during construction would not outweigh the highly unsustainable concept of using vast quantities of reinforced concrete for the foundations.”
Key consultations
Plant Varieties and Seeds (PVS) Strategy (closes 19 December 2022) – The policy area of Plant Varieties and Seeds (PVS) covers Plant Variety Rights (intellectual property rights of plant breeders), plant variety registration, setting standards for marketing and certification of seed and other plant propagating material and ensuring that these standards are upheld. Defra, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and DAERA are working together to develop a UK PVS Strategy spanning 5 years and Defra has opened a call for ideas, inviting any interested parties to submit ideas to feed into the strategy.
Design of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO): 2023–2026 (closes 23 December 2023) – The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is seeking views on proposals for the Energy Company Obligation Plus (ECO+) scheme to deliver energy efficiency measures in homes across Great Britain from 2023-2026. ECO+ will be an addition to the current ECO4 scheme to deliver rapid installation of energy efficiency measures to households, including:
- those on the lowest income
- those in the least energy efficient homes in the lower council tax bands.
Environmental Permitting: Standard Rules Consultation 26 (closes 8 January 2023) – The Environment Agency is consulting on the proposed introduction of changes associated with the implementation of the Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD) EU/2015/2193. These changes aim to control and reduce the worst emissions of NOX, SO2, and dust emissions.
Photo by Ian Cumming on Unsplash
