David Forsdick

year of call: 1993

clerks@landmarkchambers.co.uk

areas of law

Practice Summary

David specialises in environmental, planning and public law. Called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1993 (and to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2012) he is on the A Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown (first appointed 2005). He has extensive experience of appearing in the Higher Courts as well as at inquiries and in front of other tribunals. David works for a wide range of public sector clients, private clients and public interest groups.

In 2011, he was nominated for Junior of the Year in the Planning & Environment category of the Chambers & Partners Bar Awards.

He is listed as a leading junior in administrative and public law, local government law and planning in Chambers & Partners 2012 and the Legal 500. He has regularly featured in the list of top-rated junior planning barristers in the annual Planning Magazine Law Survey.

In the last few months, he has appeared as lead counsel in the Court of Appeal in Samede v. City of London Corporation [2012] EWCA Civ 160 (Occupy protestors at St Pauls);  Leeds Group v. Leeds City Council [2011] EWCA Civ 1447 (compatibility of the Commons Registration Act 1968 with human rights legislation); and Minter v. Kingston Upon Hull  [2012] HLR 3 (CA) (test case on equal pay claims and impact of awards on housing benefit and job seekers allowance).


Environmental Public Law

David’s environmental law practice covers matters such as habitats and species protection under the Habitats Directive, waste including landfill; renewable energy (including windfarms and hydro power), environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment and environmental permitting.
 

His current work includes various landfill enforcement and other environmental permitting issues for the Northern Ireland Environment Agency Northern Ireland; advising a waste planning authority on strategic environmental assessment issues; advising a resident’s group in respect of possible judicial reviews of enforcement action against unauthorised waste uses; representing the Secretary of State in EIA challenge relating to Pathfinder regeneration demolitions (R(SAVE) v. Secretary of State) and for local residents in EIA challenge to approval of nuclear waste disposal (Bowen – West v. Secretary of State [2011] EWHC 2930 (Admin). He recently acted for the British Waterboard and an individual in two separate challenges to the Environment Agency’s approach to hydro-power licensing.
 

Planning

David’s planning practice encompasses all aspects of planning in an advisory capacity, at inquiry and in the Courts and includes compulsory purchase and compensation, highways, rights of way and village greens.

His recent Court work includes acting for the IPC in a challenge arising from nuclear new build (R (Innovia) v. Infrastructure Planning Commission [2011] EWHC 2883 (Admin); intervening for the Secretary of State in respect of the compatibility of the Commons Act 2006 with the Human Rights Act (Newhaven Port v. East Sussex County Council [2012] EWHC 647 (Admin)); acting for a county council in challenge on s.106 grounds to grant of permission for a 3600 home urban extension (Hertfordshire County Council v. Secretary of State [2011] EWHC 1572 (Admin) and for the developer of a strategic rail freight interchange in challenge to refusal of permission (Helioslough v. Secretary of State  [2011] EWHC 2054 (Admin).

He regularly acts for the RSPB and acted for a consortium of local authorities and NGOs in the challenge to the third runway at Heathrow (Hillingdon v. Secretary of State [2000] JPL 976).

He acts for insurers and claimants in respect of professional negligence claims arising out of planning matters and advises various criminal enforcement authorities in respect of planning and environmental related crimes including serious fraud.

His compulsory purchase and compensation work includes acting for the landowner in a claim for compensation arising from revocation of permission to extract peat and for the Secretary of State in respect of claims for compensation arising from road schemes (Streeter [2011] UKUT 1 (LC) and Esso [2008] RVR 351)

Public Law

His public law practice includes local government powers and finance, rating and Council tax, social security, regulatory and human rights. 

In terms of human rights, he has appeared in many of the recent “Occupy” cases including St Paul’s [2012] EWCA Civ 160, Parliament Square [2010]EWCA Civ 817 and [2011] EWHC 585 (QB) and two challenges to compatibility of legislation on human rights grounds (Leeds and Newhaven). 

He appeared as advocate to the Court in Harrow LBC v. Ayiku  [2012] EWHC 1200 concerning exemptions from council tax in respect of student spouses from abroad. He has advised numerous public authorities and potential claimants in respect of deficit reduction issues and advises local authorities and contractors on European procurement obligations. He is currently acting for a major city council in a claim relating to its tendering of homelessness services. He has substantial experience in assisting local authorities in the public and environmental law aspects of land transactions and has been involved in several challenges to use by local authorities of s.237 powers.

His social security work includes acting for the CPAG in Minter [2011] EWCA Civ 1155 (treatment of compensation under the equal pay legislation) and for the Secretary of State in Cotton [2011] EWCA Civ [2009] EWCA Civ 1333.

QUALIFICATIONS

A Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown - appointed 2005 (B Panel - 2002 and C Panel – 1999)

Appointed as Secretary of State decision maker in statutory appeals – 2008/9

Appointed as legal assessor by Secretary of State and by mediators in various contexts.

Chair of the Free Representation Unit 1993 – 4

Chair of Governors of St Luke’s Primary School, Islington since 2001

Regularly lectures on issues in environmental and planning judicial review, social security and general local government including probity and decision making.

CASES

INQUIRIES