Cripps Harries Hall

Jason Towell is a planning lawyer who over the years has covered the complete range of developments. He has worked on large housing developments (from one house up to 2,000 houses), retail stores, HQ office buildings, industrial complexes and one off developments such as the Millennium Dome (now O2 Arena).

Expertise

• Planning law
• Development
• Environment
• Judicial review
• Social housing
• Conservation areas
• Local government
• Compulsory purchase
• Trees
• Administrative law

Memberships

• Compulsory Puchase Association

Career

• Partner, Cripps Harries Hall LLP, 2000
• Solicitor, Cripps Harries Hall LLP, 1998
• Solicitor, Berwin Leighton Paisner, 1997
• Solicitor, Norton Rose, 1993
• Trainee Solicitor, Norton Rose, 1991

• Acting for Wates Homes Limited and Martin Grant Homes Limited in developing a new planning gain (section 106 agreement) mechanism to ensure developer contributions for a new 600 home neighbourhood in Horley, Surrey. This was recognised in a document by Department for Communities and Local Government as a beacon of good practice and the way forward
• Advising Berkeley Homes (Eastern) Limited in negotiating with the Highways Agency and Kent County Council on highways agreements to provide for works to the M20 motorway to facilitate the development of a redundant quarry for 1,000 homes
• Acting for Barratt Homes in securing a section 106 variation agreement to save over £1.5 million in terms of education contributions
• Running a successful appeal at inquiry for GLN (Copenhagen) Southern Limited in relation to obtaining planning consent for a large mixed use town centre re-development incorporating retail (over 7,000m²), leisure and residential uses
• Acting for the successful applicant in R (on the application of Wates) v Surrey County Council [2008] EWHC 706 (Admin). The case was a judicial review overturning the grant by Surrey County Council of planning permission for a large development in the Greenbelt
• Negotiating a number of highways agreements for Wates Construction Limited in relation to its regeneration project for over 300 houses at Liberty Park, Coventry
• Acting for Kent Police Authority in securing planning permission for its North Kent police headquarters building
• Acting for Wates Developments Limited, in conjunction with Hyde Housing Association, on the development of Beckenham County Cricket Ground for Kent County Cricket Club's use and residential apartments
• Acting for Gravesham Borough Council on a complex land disposal and planning agreements for the regeneration of a town centre site by a beacon residential development
• Advising a PLC land owner client whose headquarters office building was affected by the London Thameslink expansion proposals. This involved representing the client through to a compulsory purchase public inquiry and negotiating a successful settlement between the parties
• Acting for a market housebuilder to secure a variation to a section 106 agreement with a complex market value overage arrangement in relation to affordable housing contribution costs
• Preparing a number of planning agreements for Gladedale (Special Projects) Limited in relation to its successful planning appeal for a mixed use development of up to 200 units and up to 11,000m² of business development in East Sussex
• Acting on behalf of a developer with regard to a site assembly involving the entry into option agreements with over 30 landowners. We also acted on behalf of the developer with regard to a planning appeal with regard to a planning appeal in respect of that site
• Acting for joint venture partners in developing a new planning gain (section 106 agreement) mechanism to ensure developer contributions for a new 600 home neighbourhood in the south east. This was recognised in a document by Department for Communities and Local Government as a beacon of good practice