Planning specialist Ros Trotman of law firm Thrings was the guest speaker at the latest meeting of the Solent Women in Planning Group, sponsored by Polymedia.
The event, at the William Walker in Winchester, was organised by the Southampton office of planning and design consultancy Barton Willmore and attended by around 30 planning professionals working in the public and private sectors.
Ros, an associate in the planning team at Thrings, which includes specialists based at the firm’s office in Romsey, presented an update on two significant legal decisions.
The first was a High Court ruling in favour of Swindon Borough Council, which had argued that access roads on a development should be made available as public highways. The dispute centred around the interpretation of the wording of a planning condition for the development.
The second update related to a Supreme Court case involving Lambeth Borough Council and whether use restrictions continued to apply to a retail development. The decision has far-reaching implications when interpreting planning conditions.
Strategic PR specialists, Polymedia, works extensively in the property and built environment sectors and has Thrings and Barton Willmore as clients.
Alice Drew, planner at Barton Willmore, said: “This was a very informative update from Ros, whose insight and expertise relating to these two key rulings was very much appreciated by all the attendees. Our thanks go to her and to Polymedia for sponsoring this successful event.”
Ros Trotman, who is chairman of Women in Property South West, said: “I was very pleased to be asked by Barton Willmore to present to the group. It was a very enjoyable evening and a great opportunity to meet and catch up with fellow professionals working in the region.”
Barton Willmore is one of the UK’s largest planning and design practices, offering comprehensive town planning, masterplanning, landscape, environmental planning and design expertise for private and public sector clients.
Thrings is a Top 100 law firm with offices in Romsey, London, Bristol, Bath and Swindon. Legal experts in Romsey provide specialist advice to the office’s client base in the key practice areas of agriculture, agribusiness, landed estates, succession and tax, and private affairs.
Women in Planning Solent branch launched on International Women’s Day this year. This event was the third for the branch so far this year.
