Harriet Townsend

Harriet Townsend specialises in planning and environment law. Her wider public law practice is mainly concerned with local authority powers and duties.

Harriet’s practice includes

  • Planning and enforcement appeals; statutory applications and appeals in the High Court;
  • Compulsory purchase and compensation;
  • Development Plan preparation and strategic environmental assessment;
  • Providing strategic advice on project planning and any legal requirements – whether pre- or post-application or in relation to policy formulation;
  • Highways and rights of way;
  • Town and village greens;
  • Local authority powers and duties;
  • Mediation, as advocate and as mediator.

Harriet has acted for those promoting and resisting residential development, retail schemes, heritage proposals, and economic development of various kinds (including large scale mixed use schemes, leisure development and tourist accommodation). Recent inquiries into major development proposals have involved issues of housing land supply, green belt policy, retail impact, landscape, heritage, renewable energy policy, highway safety, loss of employment land, and residential amenity.

She also works on small scale proposals in sensitive locations where they can raise challenging legal and planning issues, for example basement development in central London, river-edge development adjoining the Thames, and assets of community value.