Environmental law impacts all sectors and jurisdictions. We provide high-quality, commercially sound environmental advice to our real estate clients. We explain your risks and opportunities with clear, pragmatic advice. We help you to comply with your environmental obligations and if you’re involved in environmental litigation, we can assist you with your claim or defence.
Our team supports clients across a range of sectors including waste, water, construction, energy and finance. We provide advice on everything from complex regulatory advice and environmental liability risk in corporate or real estate transactions, to the management of business-critical incidents.
Our clients are leaders in their fields and their business activities are subject to complex and far-reaching environmental regulation. We consistently horizon-scan so that we can knowledge-share and keep you informed of developments regionally, nationally and internationally, allowing for proactive management and robust risk mitigation.
Expertise
- Commercial real estate
- Contaminated land
- Corporate transaction support
- Environment, climate and sustainability
- Environmental insurance
- Flooding
Meet the team
Our Environment team is led by Stephen Sykes, Head of Environment, Climate and Sustainability Law.
Recent work
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Enicor
Resolving a major regulatory dispute concerning the trans frontier shipment of a processed, ferrous material to various countries.
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Brockwell
Providing expert environmental litigation support to assist in relation to a contractual dispute with HM Government concerning a proposed new facility for asylum seekers.
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ABP
Advising on landlord and tenant and regulatory environmental liabilities matters concerning a significant accumulation of waste material at a large UK site.
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LanzaTech
Advising on the case law and statutory regulations concerning the presence, removal and potential migration of Japanese Knotweed at a strategic site.
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CAPSE
Mitigating the environmental risks associated with the purchase of an environmentally complex, strategic site in South Wales, involving the removal of waste materials and an application to NRW to divide an environmental permit.
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Randall Watts Construction
Environmental risk mitigation and environmental insurance policy review for the redevelopment of a large brownfield site in Essex.
Navigating Biodiversity Net Gain
New laws aimed at improving nature (biodiversity) in England have just come into effect for housebuilders and commercial property developers. These new Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) laws are mandatory and require the amount of biodiversity at development sites to be increased by 10% for development to go ahead in England.
Aimed at property developers, housebuilders, and major landowners, our recent webinar with Head of Environmental, Climate and Sustainability Law, Stephen Sykes & Planning Solicitor, Tom Jones answers your questions about BNG in England and takes you through how the position differs in Wales.
Testimonials
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He has the rare gift of being both an excellent lawyer and a sound and innovative entrepreneur. He also has a genuine commitment to protection of the environment, sustainable business and the synergy between the two.
Stephen Tromans | KC
39 Essex Chambers -
Stephen has been advising us on a complex environmental matter. Throughout he has been incredibly professional and has provided his advice in very short timeframes when required.
His knowledge of and contacts within this specialist sector are very reassuring for a client and you know that you are in the safest of hands.
He also seems to thoroughly enjoy what he does and brings great enthusiasm to the table.
I would highly recommend Stephen to anyone considering working with him.
Anthony Binnie | Chief Executive
Brockwell Group -
Highly commercial and fully committed to helping us to achieve our business objectives, it is a pleasure to work with Stephen. His legal knowledge of how to de-risk brownfield sites is second to none.
Mark Watts | Managing Director
Randall Watts Construction