Name: Alexander Greaves Chambers: Francis Taylor Building Location: London University: University of Manchester Degree: History
Adapt to survive The difference between court-based planning work and the more informal environment of planning inquiries means that lawyers specialising in the area need to be able to adjust to different tribunals and working conditions. “Being able to adapt to different environments is key,” explains Alexander. “From appearing at a planning inquiry to appearing at the High Court, or even in criminal court dealing with prosecutions following enforcement action – flexibility is the key thing.” In addition, Alexander suggests that a general understanding of politics and government policy in the area is very useful and may well be worth cultivating for those attending a pupillage interview at a planning set. “It plays such an important role in the development and application of planning law,” he claims. “Policy is so fundamental that having an understanding of current government thinking is vital. National policy and planning practice guidance is available online; you don’t need to read through it all, but it’s good to have a general understanding of the overriding themes. Quite a lot can be gleaned from the newspapers; affordable housing, air quality and concerns over greenhouse gas emissions are topical issues that have been in the news quite a lot recently.” “You can also sit in on planning inquiries,” he offers. “They happen in council offices up and down the country and are advertised on council websites. Documents are made available to the public either online or at the inquiry venue. It would definitely help you show an interest in planning at interview, where they are interested in why you want to go to a particular chambers, rather than why you just want to be a barrister. It helps to demonstrate that you’ve researched what that chambers does and show some understanding of the key issues around their areas of specialty.”
Variety is the spice of life One of the things that Alexander likes most about the planning Bar is that his workload is quite varied and he finds his time split between advisory work, inquiry work and court work. The advisory work consists of looking at papers and advising local planning authorities on decisions they may be taking, advising prospective developers on projects they may be undertaking or advising people either who want to object to planning permission or have other queries about land use. A planning inquiry is an appeal against a decision of a local planning authority and is presided over by planning inspectors, whomake decisions on behalf of the secretary of state. They can vary in length, although Alexander suggests that a rise in the number of informal hearings (which often don’t involve barristers) to clear upminor disputesmeans there are currently fewer one- or two-day inquiries andmost last between one and twoweeks. These take place up and down the country, depending onwhere the land towhich they relate happens to be. As such, Alexander often finds himself travelling long distances and staying for the duration of the inquiry, andwhile he verymuch enjoys the change of scene, he alsowarns that “they can quite often be in themiddle of nowhere”. During the pandemic, the Planning Inspectorate (like other courts) has shifted to virtual hearings. It remains to be seenwhat format will be the preferred option in the future, but it seems likely that therewill continue to be amuch greater number of virtual hearings and inquiries. He also highlights the differences between inquiries and court proceedings: “It is quite different fromcourt advocacy, in that it is common practice to sit down in these inquiries. It is procedurallymore informal than a lot of courts and there is not quite such strict adherence to the rules of evidence as in other areas. The only caveat to that would perhaps be for enforcement inquirieswhere, because evidence generally relates to evidence of fact, it is given under oath.”
437
Sign up to
BARRISTERS
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online