DEBORAH SHARPLES
Head of Planning and Environment, BIRKETTS LLP
Deborah Sharples is Partner and Head of Planning and Environment at Birketts LLP. She has over 28 years’ experience as a solicitor specialising in environmental law and acts for a range of businesses from gas suppliers to farmers and from waste management to building supplies. She advises on non-contentious matters such as contracts for waste services and also in relation to contentious matters such as alleged breaches of environmental permits and abatement notices relating to statutory nuisance. She also acts in relation to civil contentious matters, often in the context of judicial review. She has experience of advising in relation to applications for and challenges of hazardous substances consents and in relation to environmental impact assessments.
Deborah represents clients in PACE Act interviews and also acts as advocate in the magistrates’ courts and at public inquiries. Her complementary expertise in planning enable her to act effectively as advisor and advocate in connection with matters in which there is a significant overlap between planning and environmental issues, including ecology. She features in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame.
