Overview
I specialise in planning, environmental and compulsory purchase law, offering strategic and practical advice across all stages of the development process. My work spans expert insight into the planning requirements of land promotion agreements, negotiating and securing section 106 planning obligations for planning applications and for planning appeal, interpretation and amendment of planning permissions, advising on permitted development rights, and effectively dealing with planning enforcement. I also advise on the planning-driven elements of natural capital work, particularly delivering biodiversity net gain and mitigating nutrient and water neutrality impacts. This breadth of work means I am familiar with the commercial and policy‑driven pressures that shape their decision‑making, enabling me to deliver advice that is both legally sound and practically effective.
I support developer clients on the infrastructure agreements necessary to deliver development, ensuring that the legal frameworks underpinning projects are robust and aligned with clients’ wider delivery objectives. This includes advising on the negotiation and implementation of key agreements that facilitate both the sale and build‑out of residential, commercial and mixed‑use schemes.
My compulsory purchase expertise covers acting for both acquiring authorities and those impacted by compulsory purchase orders, giving me insight into the strategic considerations on each side. This dual perspective allows me to deliver balanced, solution‑driven advice, whether clients are promoting a scheme or responding to the effects of land assembly.
In addition, I advise on environmental permits and licences, helping clients understand regulatory requirements and manage applications efficiently. My experience includes guiding organisations through compliance obligations and ensuring they meet the standards demanded by environmental regulators.
I act for a wide range of clients, including clients in the energy sector, local and national government bodies, private housebuilders and developers.
Recent experience
Advising a landowner appealing the refusal of their application for a commercial development in Gloucestershire on their section 106 agreement
Advising a landowner appealing the refusal of their application for self-build housing development in Gloucestershire on their section 106 agreement
Acting for a developer on a complex section 106 agreement, including delivery of off‑site public footpath improvements, to enable a 120‑home residential scheme in North Somerset
Advising landowners under a promotion agreement on the planning strategy to bring forward 58 new homes in Somerset
Representing a landowner at appeal to promote a 50‑unit scheme in Gloucestershire, featuring custom‑build and self‑build open‑market housing
Securing a section 278 and associated section 4 agreement for a national housebuilder
Supporting a landowner in securing and delivering biodiversity net gain credits through a conservation covenant on land near Bristol
Advising landowners delivering offsite biodiversity net gain in and section 106 agreement to support their planning application for a rural development in Somerset
Securing onsite biodiversity net gain for two separate solar/BESS planning applications ahead of the Gate 2 cut off
Advising a government body on its strategic approach to protecting ancient woodland and managing the licensing of protected species
Advising a minerals planning authority on their approach to dealing with a consolidation application for a series of old mineral planning permissions
Advising a mineral operator on their ROMP application in Oxfordshire
Advising a client on their proposed acquisition of a shovel ready solar farm/BESS site in the Midlands
Advising a lender on the planning risks associated with their proposed funding of a consented solar farm
Removing legacy legal restrictions, including section 52 constraints on development land in Cornwall and section 33 restrictions affecting land in Oxfordshire
Advising on planning strategy for a proposed wind turbine development in Cornwall, including site‑specific considerations arising from nearby unlawful dwellings
Guiding a renewable energy developer on the delivery of skylark mitigation measures for a solar development in Warwickshire
Featured commentary and insights: A collection of Fergus’s published works
Idea of grey belt is largely redundant, Lords committee says – BBC News
Labour’s scale of hypocrisy exposed as communities frozen out of planning decisions
Plan to approve schemes near stations could slow delivery, experts warn | Property Week
Lords lodge PIB amendments to House of Commons | Property Week
Simplified Planning Zones: In the zone | Property Week
