The use of chemical substances is highly regulated in the UK. Among other obligations, users of chemical substances have to comply with the European Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & restriction of Chemicals (REACH), which after Brexit has become the UK REACH regulations. Failure to comply with these obligations could lead to the closure of your business.
We can help you to sort out all the applicable regulatory requirements and advise you on correcting any potential breaches.
Climate change is the major environmental issue of our time. To avoid irreparable damage to the environment, we must halve global emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050. The UK has enshrined these targets in several regulations and policies, and it’s crucial that you understand any responsibilities this could impose on you.
We can help government departments, businesses, charities and investors on all aspects of climate change law. This includes regulatory compliance with climate change responsibilities and providing legal support on climate change matters that might arise during project development.
Historical contamination of the land could be the source of environmental liabilities. Authorities can ask for the remediation of contaminated land and they have the power to assign this liability to the current owner or occupier of the land. This poses a risk in the acquisition of properties and companies.
If you’re facing contaminated land issues, we can advise you on your remediation responsibilities and support you when liaising with the regulatory authorities. We’re also experienced in contractually allocating contaminated land liabilities when you’re buying a property.
Environmental Permits regulate activities which could cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health. Depending on your activities, your business might need to get a standard conditions permit, a bespoke permit or an exemption. It’s critical that you comply with the conditions in the environmental permits through the operation of the business.
We can help your business comply with the environmental permitting regulations. We offer legal advice to ensure that you have all the appropriate permits and that you’re meeting all permit conditions. We can also help you in case of alleged breach of permit and represent you during prosecution or regulatory enforcement from the Environment Agency.
The UK housing market is always growing due to market demands and government policies. Development of real estate has a number of impacts on the environment.
We’ve built a solid reputation which is ever growing for providing strategic advice to house builders and specialist housing providers, such as PBSA and BTR sectors. This includes property and corporate environmental due diligence, and providing enforcement and environmental advice.
Our lawyers are members of several manufacturing organisations such as the:
- Chartered Institute of Wastes Management
- Manufacturing Technologies Association
- Food and Drink Alliance.
We also work with the Manufacturers’ Alliance to support their members.
As such we are well versed in meeting the needs of the sector. This could be providing advice as to site location and expansion, advice on logistics and transport hubs for your products through to dealing with the environmental regulatory framework and the regulators if things go wrong.
We're experts in dealing with the impact of climate change and sustainability dealing with matters such as these to help future proof you site’s location and manufacturing process.
We're all becoming more energy aware. Whether this is to combat the rising cost of energy or implementing plans to be energy secure, we can assist in a number of ways. Our lawyers provide a one stop shop from planning and environmental, land assembly and leasehold, to connection and grid capacity issues.
We often advise both developers and landowners on air, water, land and energy matters.
We’re well known for providing both contentious and non-contentious environmental advice in real estate and corporate transactions. We have particular expertise in issues related contaminated land and the regeneration of brownfield sites. We’re at the forefront of the latest developments, regularly providing advice on the new regimes following on from Brexit (such as Biodiversity Net Gain requirements) and the climate change emergency.
We can also help if you face alleged offences, such as pollution offences, breach of environmental permitting requirements, and more.
Climate change targets mean renewable energy continues to grow in popularity. This growth goes hand in hand with an increase in governmental regulation and control.
We’re experienced in dealing with renewable energy projects, particularly involving solar and wind. We provide legal advice on all environmental and regulatory aspects of renewable energy projects.
Historically, waste management has represented a challenge in the UK from the environmental perspective. For this reason, the sector is highly regulated. Authorities can impose large sanctions if you breach regulations and can even start criminal proceedings.
We provide legal advice on waste regulations across all sectors to help your business achieve compliance. We can also help if you face investigations due to alleged waste criminal offences.
We’re also experienced in helping businesses comply with septic tank regulations.