Ben Garbett

Ben advises on complex housing and commercial development matters, including planning applications, appeals, enforcement, lawful development, and hotel-related schemes, often acting in inquiries and disputes involving Green Belt and rural sites.

• Appeared as advocate at a public inquiry on behalf of the private owner of a leading hotel in Monmouthshire, successfully resisting plans for a major housing development by a leading national housebuilder on a site close to the hotel, in the Green Belt, which had threatened the client’s business.
• Advised a private owner in respect of the initial development plans for the creation of an award-winning luxury spa hotel in the UK (Calcot Manor Hotel situated in the Cotswolds). This included advising on listed building controls, planning procedures and legal agreements.
• Advised a hotel owner on successfully resisting a judicial review challenge brought by neighbouring landowners to the grant of planning permission relating to a planned major expansion of the existing hotel premises and business operation.
• Housing applications and appeals for PLC housebuilders.
• Obtaining lawful development certificates, e.g. to ‘regularise’ unauthorised dwellings in the Green Belt; implementation of overlapping planning consents.
• Advising on commercial-scale solar development.
• Provided an expert legal opinion for a Property development company in relation to a barn conversion using permitted development rights.

Ben advises on all aspects of motorway service area development, including new site acquisitions, expansions, planning disputes, compulsory purchase and related infrastructure projects, with extensive experience acting for leading UK operators.

• Advised a long-standing client (a UK operator of motorway service areas) in relation to its proposed acquisition of a greenfield site for the construction of a major new motorway service area on the M25 motorway, to include petrol filling station, retail, amenity areas and establishment of a new hotel.
• Advised a long-standing client (a UK operator of motorway service areas) in relation to the proposed expansion of a leading motorway service area on the M5 motorway. The development proposals involve the construction of a new hotel and associated expansion of existing car parking spaces on the southbound site.
  Motorway service areas: R (on the application of Welcome Break Group Ltd) v Stroud DC [2012] EWHC 140 (Admin).
• Compulsory purchase and compensation advice for landowners, e.g. Hinkley Project C; M25 Jct 10/A3 Wisley interchange.

Ben has extensive experience in Planning Court litigation, acting in high-profile judicial reviews, enforcement disputes, and appeals concerning Green Belt, AONB, listed buildings, nuisance issues, and complex procedural challenges.

• Enforcement against ‘concealed’ development: Jackson v SSCLG; Bonsall v SSCLG [2015] EWCA Civ 1246.
• ‘Enabling development’ for renovation of listed Grade II cinema: R(oao) Fells v Bristol CC and Everyman Media Group [2014].
• Odour and noise nuisance, e.g. re-development of shooting grounds: R (on the application of Flint) v South Gloucestershire Council [2016] EWHC 2180 (Admin); Dog kennels in the Green Belt (Richardson and Billington v Fylde District Council) [2017].
• ‘Correction’ of an Inspector’s decision letter: Laxman v SSCLG and London Borough of Southwark [2011].
• Mistake of fact: Shafi v SSCLG [2013].
• Unauthorised development in the AONB: R (oao) Hatcher v Monmouthshire County Council [2014] EWHC 2914 (Admin).
• Advised a Property development company in relation to a planning enforcement dispute concerning the validity and implementation of a prior approval permitted development consent (‘Class Q’ barn conversion)
• Handled a planning enforcement appeal for a private client relating to the unauthorised conversion of agricultural buildings to residential uses.

Ben is a specialist in GDPO matters, advising on permitted development rights across telecoms, offices, dwellings, and agricultural buildings, with substantial litigation experience on conditions, enforcement, demolition, and change-of-use issues.

• ‘Implied’ planning conditions (purporting to remove permitted development rights):Dunnett Investments Ltd v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2017] EWCA Civ 192; Baker v SSCLG and Three Rivers District Council [2017].
• Telecomms: Development of new electronic communications networks (Part 16).
• Offices: Planning appeals for ‘office to residential’ change of use schemes.
• Dwellings: Planning Court litigation on the scope of permitted development rights for enlargement of dwellings: Patel v SSCLG and London Borough of Sutton [2017].
• Agricultural buildings: to dwellings at planning appeal and litigation in the Planning Court: R(oao) Guy Townsend v Harrogate Borough Council[2015]; R(oao) Guy Townsend v Harrogate Borough Council [2017]; Upton Historic Parkland Conservation Group v SSCLG and Baldwin [2018].
• Demolition under ‘GPDO’ Part 11.

Ben advises on commercial property development, including strategic housing schemes, heritage and listed assets, judicial reviews, enforcement, Green Belt disputes, and major land transactions, representing both private owners and developers.

• Appeared as advocate at a public inquiry on behalf of the private owner of a leading hotel in Monmouthshire, successfully resisting plans for a major housing development by a leading national housebuilder on a site close to the hotel, in the Green Belt, which had threatened the client’s business.
• Advised a private owner in respect of the initial development plans for the creation of an award-winning luxury spa hotel in the UK (Calcot Manor Hotel situated in the Cotswolds). This included advising on listed building controls, planning procedures and legal agreements.
• Advised a hotel owner on successfully resisting a judicial review challenge brought by neighbouring landowners to the grant of planning permission relating to a planned major expansion of the existing hotel premises and business operation.
• ‘Enabling development’ for renovation of listed Grade II cinema: R(oao) Fells v Bristol CC and Everyman Media Group [2014].
• Odour and noise nuisance, e.g. re-development of shooting grounds: R (on the application of Flint) v South Gloucestershire Council [2016] EWHC 2180 (Admin); Dog kennels in the Green Belt (Richardson and Billington v Fylde District Council)[2017].
• Unauthorised development in the AONB: R (oao) Hatcher v Monmouthshire County Council [2014] EWHC 2914 (Admin).
• Planning, enforcement and LDC appeals related to Heritage assets, e.g. B8 storage use of former Cold War military base.
• Advised the owner of a luxury Golf & Country Club resort in respect of its negotiations relating to a Water Industry Act agreement for works to construct a new public sewer across its land
• Successfully advised a cricket club in relation to judicial review proceedings followed by a long-running series of legal dispute relating to unauthorised housing development affecting its ground
• Provided an expert legal opinion for a Property development company in relation to a barn conversion using permitted development rights
• Advised a farming company in relation to contract negotiations concerning strategic development proposals for a major urban extension to Chipping Campden
• Advised an Education sector client in relation to development projects across its portfolio of school properties using permitted development rights.

Ben advises on residential development projects, including housing applications, appeals, enforcement, permitted development rights, and judicial reviews, acting for housebuilders, landowners and private clients in complex planning disputes and inquiries.

• Housing applications and appeals for PLC housebuilders.
• Obtaining lawful development certificates, e.g. to ‘regularise’ unauthorised dwellings in the Green Belt; implementation of overlapping planning consents.
• Enforcement against ‘concealed’ development: Jackson v SSCLG; Bonsall v SSCLG [2015] EWCA Civ 1246.
• ‘Implied’ planning conditions (purporting to remove permitted development rights):Dunnett Investments Ltd v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2017] EWCA Civ 192; Baker v SSCLG and Three Rivers District Council [2017].
•  Offices: Planning appeals for ‘office to residential’ change of use schemes.
• Dwellings: Planning Court litigation on the scope of permitted development rights for enlargement of dwellings: Patel v SSCLG and London Borough of Sutton[2017].
• Agricultural buildings: to dwellings at planning appeal and litigation in the Planning Court: R(oao) Guy Townsend v Harrogate Borough Council[2015]; R(oao) Guy Townsend v Harrogate Borough Council [2017]; Upton Historic Parkland Conservation Group v SSCLG and Baldwin [2018].
• Planning, enforcement and LDC appeals related to Heritage assets, e.g. preservation of WW2 radio wave research building in the National Park.
• Brought successful judicial review proceedings in court after planning permission was granted for the conversion of a public house into residential dwellings
• Advised on section 288 statutory review proceedings
• Appeared as advocate at planning inquiry for private clients in relation to a dispute surrounding the legal concept of “abandonment” of a planning use
• Brought successful judicial review proceedings in court after planning permission was granted for the conversion of a public house into residential dwellings
• Secured valuable vehicular parking rights for clients after successfully challenging the validity of a ‘section 106’ agreement
• Advised on planning risk factors in connection with equestrian development as part of a proposed residential property purchase.

Ben advises on energy projects including solar, wind, nuclear and anaerobic digestion, acting for developers and landowners in planning applications, disputes, compulsory purchase, compensation, and High Court challenges across the sector.

• Acting for a landowner who successfully challenged a planning proposal for development of an anaerobic digestion plant in the Green Belt.
• Advised a key landowner on compensation issues who faced compulsory acquisition for the Hinckley Point C nuclear project.
• Advised Bird & Bird LLP on planning when they have been acting for clients on deals acquiring various solar projects in the UK.
• Advised Greener Wind Energy Limited on a High Court challenge.
• Advising on commercial-scale solar development.
• Handling housing and wind farm agreements for Cornwall Council and for Wiltshire District Council (on secondment).

Recognised by The Legal 500 for Agriculture and Estates 2026

Recognised by The Legal 500 for Planning 2015, 2018 & 2020 -2026