Simon Pickles

year of call: 1978

SPickles@landmarkchambers.co.uk

areas of law

Compulsory purchase and compensation

A more detailed indication of areas of work undertaken during the past 6 years:

Public inquiries

Appearances on behalf of objectors to CPOs concerning Wembley Link and the Olympics. The first of these secured exclusion of the objector’s land by modification. The second resulted in an award of costs against the promoter (changes to the scheme having undermined the basis upon which the objection – subsequently withdrawn – had proceeded). Further appearances at inquiries into CPOs concerning Portsmouth TC and Newbury TC (Marks & Spencer), and Birmingham New Street (Warner Holdings) avoided following negotiated withdrawals.

Lands Tribunal

• Claimant entitled as a matter of law to recover compensation, as ‘any other matter’ under rule 6, for the loss of rental income that would have resulted from redevelopment of land taken as part of a scheme including adjoining land [Pattle & Pattle v. Secretary of State for Transport [ACQ 7 2007]].
• Proper construction of the limitation provisions of the General Vesting Declarations Act on compensating authority’s application to strike out  [The Estate of Reginald Hodson v. Rochford District Council [ACQ 467 2007]].
• Claim for compensation for the compulsory purchase of a public house on a total extinguishment basis [Mercury Taverns PLC v. Coventry CC [ACQ 3 2002]]

Advisory

Frequent advice on compensation issues arising from the compulsory acquisition of land (having appeared as junior counsel in leading cases of Director of Buildings & Land v. Shun Fung [1995] 2 AC 111 (recovery of pre-acquisition losses) and Hughes v. Doncaster MBC (1991) 1 AC 382 (the meaning of 'contrary to law' (rule 4))).

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QUALIFICATIONS

Simon graduated with an MA in Law from Cambridge University (Sidney Sussex College). He is an Assistant Parliamentary Boundary Commissioner and a member of both PEBA and UKELA.

CASES

INQUIRIES