No5 Barristers' Chambers - Excellence is at the heart of everything we do.
Background

Planning

"No5 Barristers' Chambers is truly a very professional chambers and always provides excellent service."

Legal 500 2023

"No5 Barristers' Chambers is a good set. The KCs and the juniors are very able, and the clerking is exceptional."

Legal 500 2023

"No5 has a wealth of talent and expertise."

Chambers UK 2023

"The clerking is very good and very accessible at all levels. They are always keen to help."

Chambers UK 2018

Chambers has a long-standing reputation for quality advisory and advocacy services in Planning Law, dating back more than half a century.

Our members have been instructed in some of the most important cases (Tesco v Dundee, BDW Trading v Secretary of State, Richborough Estates v Cheshire East BC) and many of the most significant and controversial planning proposals including new town settlements, large scale employment, nuclear power stations, sports stadia, new roads and green energy.

The team ‘has an established reputation for excellence in planning law’ and offers advisory and advocacy services at all levels, from leading KCs to very junior barristers. Our members provide advice from the very conception of a development to its conclusion, whether that be achieving planning consent, at appeal or through to legal challenges in the courts. We assist at every stage in the process, from pre application to planning committee, during an appeal process and through the courts.

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Members act on behalf of developers, land promoters, housebuilders, energy providers, local authorities and private individuals, including local action groups.

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For more information:


Expertise

Planning Barristers

Peter Goatley KC

Call 1992 | Silk 2020

Richard Humphreys KC

Call 1986 | Silk 2006

Paul Cairnes KC

Call 1980 | Silk 2016

Richard Kimblin KC

Call 1998 | Silk 2016

Christopher Young KC

Call 1997 | Silk 2018

Gordon Wignall

Hugh Richards

Call 1992

Scott Stemp

Call 2000

Rowena Meager

Call 2007

Jack Smyth

Call 2007

Jessica Allen

Call 2019

Sioned Davies

Call 2019

Anna Stein

Call 2023

Paul Cairnes KC

Call 1980 | Silk 2016

Planning Clerks

Andrew Bisbey

Director of Clerking

Marc Forrest-Thomas

Practice Director, Planning & Environment

Natasha Clark

Planning and Environment Clerk

Related News, Resources and Events

Past Events


Nuisance Seminar

This lunchtime seminar, aimed at property, planning and environmental practitioners, at all levels will be split into two topics of discussion: PRIVATE NUISANCE AND THE…

Past Events


Annual Planning Seminar 2025

After months of anticipation, the new NPPF is finally here, heralding what the Deputy Prime Minister has called a “landmark overhaul” to “shake-up a broken…

Past Events


The Forestry Act : How not to get caught out

Scott Stemp, Daniel Henderson and Jessica Allen are hosting a seminar on 15th October on the Forestry Act 1967. The talk looks to guide landowners…

Publications


R (Hilltop Experiences Ltd) -v- Norfolk County Council [2025] EWHC 1447 (Admin) [12 June 2025]

Norfolk County Council’s decision to grant planning permission for a household waste recycling centre (“HWRC”) within a designated AONB was challenged by the Claimant. The…

News


Hugh Richards and Jessica Allen appear in the Court of Appeal in Smar Holdings Limited v SSEFRA

Today, the Court of Appeal will hear an appeal by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (‘SSEFRA’) against the decision of…

News


Overplanting in solar farm proposals – key points from Ross -v- SSHCLG and Renewable Energy Systems Ltd [2025] EWHC 1183 (Admin)

This case produced some important conclusions on how to approach overplanting in solar farm proposals. Of the six grounds of challenge, this article focuses primarily…

Publications


Private nuisance amenity value cases – an important new test from the High Court

Fearn v. Tate Gallery Trustees [2024] AC 1 dealt with those types of private nuisance where there has been a ‘sensible’ interference with the use…

Publications


Solid foundations: avoiding problems with invalid applications

In my previous article I considered the requirements necessary to have a valid application for planning permission. In this article I go on to consider…

Publications


Solid foundations: avoiding problems with registration and validation

An application is made for planning permission. The Local Planning Authority (‘the LPA’) receives the application, registers and validates it, and proceeds to determination. Simple!…

Podcasts


The Planning Podcast Episode 54:  What is national policy? The Court of Appeal in Mead, and recent updates

In light of recent legislative changes and policy announcements, we are at something of a hinge-point as to a vital question in planning practice –…

Podcasts


The Planning Podcast Episode 53: How to do a hearing: Local Planning Authorities

In the second of a two-part series, Daniel Henderson, James Corbet Burcher, and Sioned Davies discuss the basics of ‘how to do a hearing’, this…

Podcasts


The Planning Podcast Episode 52: How to do a hearing: Appellants

Given the policy framework in which we now find ourselves in 2025, it is inevitable that practitioners are going to see a significant uptick in…

News


Post-PPG, Green Belt Farm Succeeds at Inquiry

Following an inquiry on 11th-14th February, Inspector Partington has granted consent for a 57ha solar farm in South Oxfordshire in the Grey Belt and on…

Past Events


Nuisance Seminar

This lunchtime seminar, aimed at property, planning and environmental practitioners, at all levels will be split into two topics of discussion: PRIVATE NUISANCE AND THE…

Publications


In a post-Finch world, Secretary of State delays Gatwick second runway decision

A number of important documents have been published today in relation to Gatwick Airport’s Northern Runway Project development consent order (DCO) application. The DCO Examination…

News


Marc Forrest-Thomas and Pete Mottram have been promoted to the role of Practice Director

No5 Barristers’ Chambers is delighted to announce that Marc Forrest-Thomas of the Planning and Environment Group and Pete Mottram of the PI/Clinical Negligence Group have…

Past Events


Annual Planning Seminar 2025

After months of anticipation, the new NPPF is finally here, heralding what the Deputy Prime Minister has called a “landmark overhaul” to “shake-up a broken…

Podcasts


The Planning Podcast Episode 51 – New NPPF: The Key Changes

After months of anticipation, the new NPPF is finally here, heralding what the Deputy Prime Minister has called a “landmark overhaul” to “shake up a…

View all Planning related news

Clerk Team

Marc Forrest-Thomas

Practice Director, Planning & Environment

marct@no5.com

Natasha Clark

Planning and Environment Clerk

natashac@no5.com

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