Catherine joined Russell-Cooke in 2023. She advises on planning appeals and judicial challenges, planning applications, development agreements, community infrastructure levy, assets of community value, planning policy, environmental, visual and biodiversity impact assessments, listed buildings, conservation areas, planning enforcement, town and village greens, CPOs, NISP’s, DCO’s, certificates of lawfulness and other public law matters.

Catherine is known for her pragmatic strategic and operational approach to enable flexibility and minimise risk.

• Represented Winchester City Council at the SofS National Infrastructure Hearings on the Aquind Interconnector. The Council was a potential host borough to an interconnector station

• Represented the London Borough of Newham at the SofS National Infrastructure Hearings on the Silvertown Tunnel proposals. The Council is a host borough to the tunnel exit and entry and successfully negotiated a compensation package for residents and business owners

• Acted for Winchester City Council in High Court judicial review challenge(s) to grant of planning permissions including council own development proposals

• Acted in a successful decision of Court of Appeal to uphold a planning enforcement notice and defended a request for an Injunction at the High Court who refused an application to suspend an injunction granted to the London of Borough Newham to clear structures illegally built with over two decades of planning enforcement

• Advised the London Boroughs of Havering and Newham, and developers on major residential and mixed development proposals, including compulsory purchase orders, planning and other regulatory requirements, such as Rainham and Beam Park and Bridge Close developments

• Successfully negotiated and advised on numerous s106 agreements and highways agreements on planning applications, viability reviews and planning committees for major residential and mixed developments (3500 homes+) along the Thames River development area which include residential housing, national and London rail stations, schools, affordable housing schemes, MUGA’s, doctors surgeries, retail and commercial

• Advised on Community Infrastructure Levy – social and charitable exemptions, liability notices, and new council policy and procedures

• Advised on and negotiated biodiversity agreements and schemes to obtain biodiversity credits

• Lead in house governance lawyer to establish the Bradford Children’s and Families Trust as part of a team to negotiate a service delivery contract, service level agreement and governance agreement and articles of association for the delivery of children’s social care services

• As a barrister, successfully appeared in the New Zealand High Court and Court of Appeal on behalf of the Crown in numerous sentencing and conviction appeals for criminal and regulatory offending including planning and building, obtained the first terms of imprisonment, and appeared in the District Court in trials representing central, local and regional authorities & Crown entities

• Gained a Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Town Planning and Bachelor of Science, New Zealand

• Member of the NSW Law Society