Solicitor – Admitted 2020
“I have praised you to everyone. You responded to my e-mails very quickly… I was very happy working with you and would recommend you highly. It felt like a team with you alongside, which I very much appreciated. Will miss the ‘Lydia’ e-mails.”
“[Lydia] took a very pro-active position with the Land Registry, whilst at the same time guiding and advising us through our [Application].. If we had a query, then it was usually expertly dealt with that same day. We could not have asked for a better or more personal service.”
“Thank you very much for your work on our behalf over the last six months. As you gathered we had reached the end of our patience dealing with the problem and the legal brick wall that had been erected in front of us. We are impressed with your work and for finding a simpler legal route than the complex and impossible one previously set out.”
“thank you for all your help, it was so speedy at a really difficult time for everyone just after Christmas, and just what we needed.”
Overview
I am an Associate in the Specialist Real Estate team at Michelmores. My practice areas include property, planning and public law.
I advise a wide range of clients on contentious and non-contentious aspects of property and planning related work, including lease extensions (statutory and non-statutory), boundary disputes, possession proceedings, title advice and dilapidations claims.
I advise generally on planning matters, including on applications and appeals for certificates of lawful use, permitted development rights, and the drafting and negotiating of section 106 agreements. I also enjoy working on matters of public law, particularly where they overlap with planning and property issues. I have experience in judicial review, compulsory purchase and advising on compliance with statutory duties.
During 2022, I undertook a secondment to a public limited company on a part-time basis, assisting the company’s in-house legal team on a broad spectrum of commercial and property focussed issues. This was a fantastic opportunity to really get to know the business and understand how I could provide best-value. Having in-house experience allows me to better understand the environment of public and private companies and the unique challenges they face.
I enjoy getting to know my clients to understand how I can best assist. I appreciate the importance of being contactable and endeavour to minimise the difficulties of litigation as much as I can, by explaining the steps, undertaking the legal legwork and advising on strategy, so that my clients feel empowered to make the right decision for them.
I joined Michelmores in 2018, having obtained a first-class honours degree in Human Geography (BA) from the University of Exeter and distinctions in both the GDL and LPC (LLM) from the University of Law in Guildford. I am a member of the Property Litigation Association.
Recent experience
Acting for various landowner clients who wish to recover possession of their private or commercial tenanted property. I have recently assisted with successfully recovering possession of two private rented domestic properties due to a breach of lease provisions by the clients’ respective tenants.
Advising on the opposed and unopposed lease renewals for commercial properties. The landlord of one commercial premises wanted to recover possession for re-development and own use, and we were able to assist with negotiating a deal to secure possession for the client, whilst avoiding the need for court proceedings
Advising on various matters relating to land ownership, including submitting successful applications for boundary rectification and adverse possession claims on registered and unregistered land
Drafting a detailed objection to a compulsory purchase order (CPO) on behalf of a developer client who had purchased a disused public house. The objection was based on the Council’s failure to properly apply or justify the use of their compulsory purchase powers, and successfully resulted in the Council withdrawing the CPO
Advising a water undertaker on various water resource management applications to the Environment Agency