Isabella Buono

Planning

Isabella has a broad planning practice, covering a full range of court, inquiry and advisory work. She is listed as the highest-rated planning barrister under the age of 35 in Planning Magazine’s most recent survey.

Isabella has experience of promoting and objecting to complex schemes in sensitive locations, including London tall buildings and residential development in the Green Belt.

She recently acted for Quinn Estates at a 16-week call in inquiry into its Highsted Park scheme in Kent (which includes 8,400 homes, 35 ha of employment floorspace, 2 relief roads and a motorway junction), led by Zack Simons KC. It is the largest housing-led scheme ever considered by the Planning Inspectorate and was described as “a make-or-break test” for the Government’s growth agenda in the national press.

Isabella’s other inquiry experience includes:

• Greenfield: Isabella has acted for developers and land promoters in many greenfield planning appeals, including Land off Spruce Close, Exeter (93 homes), Land off Swanstree Avenue, Sittingbourne (135 homes), Drynham Lane, Trowbridge (91 homes), Bishops Lane, Ringmer (68 homes), Kingsnorth Green, Ashford (550 homes), Long Shoot, Nuneaton (500 homes) and Ufton Court, Sittingbourne (290 homes), led by Zack Simons KC.
• Green Belt: Isabella has experience of promoting residential development in the Green Belt at inquiry, including Maitland Lodge, Billeracy (47 homes), Little Bushey Lane, Bushey (310 homes), Barnet Lane, Elstree (74 homes) and Barnet Lane, Borehamwood (220 homes), led by Zack Simons KC.
• London tall buildings: Isabella acted for the applicant at the call-in inquiry for the B&Q site, Cricklewood (1,049 homes in buildings up to 18 storeys), led by Sasha White KC. She acted for Hounslow LBC at the call-in inquiry for the Citroen site, Brentford (441 homes in buildings up to 18 storeys), led by Ed Grant.
• Infrastructure: Isabella acted (unled) for the owner of an industrial site in Derbyshire, resisting the grant of a necessary wayleave at a two-day hearing.
• Commercial: Isabella acted for a landowner seeking permission for a B2/B8 warehousing scheme (in excess of 40,000 sqm) in Kettering, Northamptonshire, led by Zack Simons KC.
• Isabella also acted for successful appellants in the BioPark, Welwyn Garden City (289 homes), Rustington Golf Course, Angmering (linked appeals for 191 and 167 homes), 51-53 Bow Road, London (an 100% affordable scheme) and Weylands Treatment Works, Walton-on-Thames (employment floorspace, WEEE recycling facilities and 40 affordable homes) inquiries, led by Zack Simons KC.
• She acted as sole counsel for the developer of a 144-home scheme at Tapton Business Park, Chesterfield and for a rule 6 party objecting to a 116-home scheme in Oxted, Surrey.

Isabella has appeared as a junior and as sole counsel in High Court planning challenges, including:

• Section 106 contributions for NHS trusts: Isabella acted for Leicestershire County Council in the first and leading case on section 106 contributions sought by NHS trusts for the provision of NHS services (R (University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust) v Harborough District Council [2023] EWHC 263 (Admin)), led by Zack Simons KC.
• Flood risk: Isabella acted for Redrow Homes (led by Zack Simons KC) and Mead Realisations (led by Lord Banner KC) in a claim concerning the proper approach to the flood risk sequential test (Mead and Redrow v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities [2024] EWHC 279 (Admin) and [2025] EWCA Civ 32). She is currently acting for Persimmon in a challenge to the grant of planning permission for 190 homes on appeal in Yatton, Somerset, notwithstanding the failure of the flood risk sequential test (led by Lord Banner KC). The claim is due to be heard by the High Court in January 2026.
• EIA: Isabella represented the claimant residents’ group (unled) in a challenge to the discharge of a drainage condition attached to a grant of planning permission for a 6,000-home scheme in Cardiff, and to a grant of planning permission for a new sewage pumping station required to accommodate that residential scheme on the sewerage network (R (Llandaff North Residents’ Association) v Cardiff Council and others [2023] EWHC 1731 (Admin)). She also acted for the claimant (led by Catherine Dobson with Alex Shattock) in a challenge to the DCO granted for a new gas-fired electricity generating station with post combustion carbon capture in Teesside (R (Boswell) v Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero [2025] EWCA Civ 669).
• Policy interpretation: Isabella acted for Lidl in a challenge to a grant of permission for a new supermarket in Cumbria (led by Sasha White KC), which raised issues relating to the interpretation of local plan policies (R (Tesco Stores Ltd) v Allerdale BC [2022] EWHC 2827 (Admin)). She also acted for the Secretary of State in a challenge to the adoption of the Greater Manchester ‘Places for Everyone’ Plan (led by Leon Glenister), which raised issues in relation to the “exceptional circumstances” test for Green Belt release (Save Greater Manchester Green Belt Ltd v SSHCLG [2025] EWHC 2742 Admin)).

Isabella’s recent enforcement work has included a high-profile appeal against an enforcement notice requiring the removal of a statue known as ‘The Don’ in Cambridge (led by Lord Banner KC) and obtaining an injunction requiring the removal of 600 tonnes of waste from a former quarry in Suffolk (as sole counsel).

Environment

Isabella is building a broad environmental practice.

She has acted (unled) for a community group challenging the grant of planning permission for a sewage pumping station on EIA grounds (R (Llandaff North Residents’ Association) v Cardiff Council and others [2023] EWHC 1731 (Admin)), for agricultural businesses objecting to the revocation of their groundwater abstraction licences by the Environment Agency (led by David Forsdick KC) and in a challenge to the DCO for the Net Zero Teesside CCUS project (led by Catherine Dobson with Alex Shattock).

Isabella gained experience of a range of environmental law matters during her time as a Judicial Assistant at the Supreme Court, including in:

• Heathrow Airport Ltd v Friends of the Earth [2020] UKSC 52 (on the Government’s approach to international climate change commitments when designating the Airports National Policy Statement); and
• CPRE Kent v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2021] UKSC [2021] UKSC 36 (on the application of the Aarhus costs cap when permission to bring an environmental challenge is refused).

Isabella has a particular interest in environmental cases with a retained EU law dimension, having taught the undergraduate course in EU law at various colleges of the University of Cambridge since 2017.  Before coming to the Bar, Isabella also spent a year as a Research Assistant at the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, where her work focused on the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018. 

Public and Administrative

Isabella has broad public law experience, acting for claimants, defendants and interested parties. She was appointed to the Attorney General’s C Panel of Counsel in 2024.

Isabella acted for the Lord Chancellor in the Law Society’s challenge to the Government’s response to the Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid (R (Law Society of England and Wales) v Lord Chancellor [2024 EWHC 155 (Admin)), led by Sir James Eadie KC, Catherine Dobson and Adam Boukraa. She acted for an NHS Trust (led by Vikram Sachdeva KC and Catherine Dobson) in a high-profile appeal concerning the relevance of a patient’s belief in their illness and prognosis to their capacity to consent to medical treatment (Thirulamesh v University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust [2024] EWCA Civ 896).

Before joining Landmark, Isabella spent nearly two years as the Judicial Assistant to the President of the Supreme Court, Lord Reed. She gained experience of a wide range of public law and human rights issues during that time, including in:

• Heathrow Airport Ltd v Friends of the Earth [2020] UKSC 52 (on the Government’s approach to international climate change commitments when designating the Airports National Policy Statement);
• R (Begum) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] UKSC 7 (on the rights of an individual deprived of British citizenship after traveling to Syria and aligning with ISIS);
• R (SC) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] UKSC 26 (on the compatibility of the two-child benefit cap with articles 8 and 14 of the ECHR);
• R (AB) v Secretary of State for Justice [2021] UKSC 28 (on the compatibility of the solitary confinement of a child in custody with article 3 of the ECHR);
• Reference by the Attorney General and the Advocate General for Scotland – United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill [2021] UKSC 41 (on whether the UNCRC Bill was within the competence of the Scottish Parliament);
• R (Majera) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] UJSC 46 (on the obligation of Government to comply with court orders, even if invalid on their face); and
• R (Elan-Cane) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] UKSC 56 (on the compatibility of the Secretary of State’s policy not to grant gender-neutral passports with articles 8 and 14 of the ECHR).

Isabella has a particular interest in public law claims with a retained EU law dimension, having taught the undergraduate course in EU law at various colleges of the University of Cambridge since 2017.  Before coming to the Bar, Isabella also spent a year as a Research Assistant at the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, where her work focused on the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018. 

Compulsory Purchase and Compensation

Isabella has experience of both promoting and objecting to CPOs at inquiry. She acted for the promoters of the CPO for The Green, Southall (led by Zack Simons KC) and for objectors to the High Road West CPO in Tottenham (unled).

Isabella is currently acting for the Secretary of State in relation to high value compensation claims arising out of the acquisition of land to deliver the Birmingham Terminus of HS2 (led by Guy Williams KC and Andrew Byass): Quintain City Park Gare Birmingham Ltd v Secretary of State for Transport [2025] UKUT 7 (LC) and [2025] UKUT 312 (LC).