Qualifications and Appointments
- MA (Cantab)
Practice overview
John is a specialist in all areas of real property law and litigation, with particular emphasis on commercial leases and issues related to property development. He also has many years of experience in the law and practice of town planning and compulsory acquisition of land. He accepts instructions to act as an independent expert and as a legal assessor in arbitrations.
John’s practice is both advisory and litigious. The advisory work often relates to development projects and possible impediments to them (for example, restrictive covenants and easements), where a robust and reliable view is needed. Some recent decided cases will provide an impression of John’s litigious work. In Cosmichome Ltd v. Southampton City Council [2013] 1 WLR 2436, John established that a restrictive covenant relating to broadcasting studios was not enforceable because it was not intended to protect the amenity or value of the covenantee’s land. Mount Eden Land Ltd v. Bolsover Investments Ltd [2014] EWHC 3523 (Ch) concerned a landlord’s objection to the development of commercial premises to provide flats, on the grounds that future lessees of the flats might enjoy rights of enfranchisement; John established that, in the circumstances of the case, such an objection did not provide a reasonable ground for refusing consent to the proposed alterations. Stadium Capital (No. 2) Ltd v. St Marylebone Property Company Ltd [2012] 1 EGLR 103 was, as Vos J put it, “the third instalment of a long-running battle concerning an advertising hoarding on the west side of the Finchley Road, projecting into the airspace of a cleared development site”. In the “first instalment” John had established that his developer client was entitled to damages for trespass and the decision of Vos J is now one of the leading cases on the method of assessment of such damages.
John's expertise
Property
Examples of cases in which John has been instructed in the first half of 2022 are as follows:
- advising the owners of a block of flats as to the impact of proposals for the development of adjoining commercial property on their rights of way
- advising as to the effect of Part 1 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 in relation to a reorganisation of corporate property interests
- advising as to whether a landlord’s refusal to consent to a change of use of a building from offices to flats was unreasonable
- advising on a landlord’s ability to oppose the grant of new tenancies of public houses pursuant to Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 on the grounds of the landlord’s intention to occupy for its own business
- advising on the possible acquisition of public rights of way over private roads by long user, having regard to section 31 of the Highways Act 1980
During more than 40 years in practice, John has appeared in many reported cases in the House of Lords, Court of Appeal and at first instance. His cases in the Court of Appeal since 2000 are as follows, giving some illustration of the range of his work.
- HMV UK Ltd v. Propinvest Friar Limited Partnership [2011] EWCA Civ. 1708 (consideration of test to be used under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 on an application for permission to appeal against a decision of an arbitrator relating to a rent review of a high street shop).
- Stadium Capital Holdings (No. 2) Ltd v. St Marylebone Property Company Ltd [2010] EWCA Civ 952 (issue on the assessment of damages for trespass to land, following finding by trial judge that the projection of an advertising hoarding into the airspace of a cleared development site constituted a trespass).
- Landlord Protect Ltd v. St Anselm Development Company Ltd [2009] 2 EGLR 23 (landlord’s requirement for an extended guarantee on an assignment of a lease of a block of flats found to be unreasonable; intended purchaser of lease entitled to rescind contract and recover deposit).
- Debenhams Retail plc v. Sun Alliance & London Assurance Co Ltd [2005] 3 EGLR 34. (VAT to be included in calculation of turnover rent payment under lease of a department store).
- Well Barn Shoot Ltd v. Shackleton [2003] EWCA Civ 02 (consideration of whether sporting rights could be relied upon to prevent the development of barns for residential purposes; “negative declaration” granted; development in accordance with undertakings given would not cause substantial interference with rights).
- Keelwalk Properties Ltd v. Waller [2002] 3 EGLR 79 (rejection of alleged proprietary estoppel relating to renewal of leases on an estate of bungalows).
- J Murphy & Sons Ltd v. Railtrack PLC [2002] 2 EGLR 48 (consideration of the valuation hypotheses required on the renewal of a business lease under section 34 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954).
- National Car Parks Ltd v. Trinity Development Co (Banbury) Ltd [2001] 2 EGLR 43 (consideration of whether an agreement relating to a car park created a lease or a licence).
John is extremely good on the technical side of things and I have a lot of respect for his knowledge.- He never sits on the fence, always giving his views on an issue; his written advice is exceptionally clear.
- User-friendly, very well regarded and impresses with his strategic advice.
John's expertise
Domestic arbitration
John has more than forty years experience of dealing with disputes relating to the law of landlord and tenant and real property. As such disputes are often required to be referred for determination to an arbitrator or an expert, John is very familiar with the law applicable to such determinations and the procedure which must be followed. John has acted as an expert and arbitrator himself and has advised surveyors acting in these capacities, in addition to advising the parties to disputes referred for such determination. His essay on Expert determinations and the powers of the Court was published in Development Disputes (Wilberforce Chambers 2012).
Most recently John has advised a party to a rent review dispute on legal issues relating to mixed use premises on the fringe of the City of London, which was referred to an expert surveyor for decision. He also advised an expert surveyor who was appointed to determine a dispute relating to the sale of land and ‘onerous planning conditions’; for these purposes, he attended a hearing where the case was argued by leading counsel for the parties to the dispute.
- John is extremely good on the technical side of things and I have a lot of respect for his knowledge.
- He never sits on the fence, always giving his views on an issue; his written advice is exceptionally clear.
- User-friendly, very well regarded and impresses with his strategic advice.
John's Details
Memberships
- Chancery Bar Association
- Property Bar Association (Chairman 2011-2014)
- Planning and Environment Bar Association
Publications
- Hill and Redman’s Law of Landlord and Tenant (2022) (general editor of this looseleaf textbook since 1996)
- The Landlord and Tenant Act 1954: ‘substantial work of construction’ and the role of the building surveyor (with Christopher Sullivan and Vivien King), Journal of Building Survey, Appraisal and Valuation, Autumn 2017
- ‘Relief from forfeiture: Can the landlord gather a windfall?’ (2016) Wilberforce Property Update (Issue 2) April 2016
- ‘Mount Eden Land Limited v Bolsover Investment Limited’ (2014) Wilberforce Property Update (Issue 1) May 2015
- A new lease of life (on the drafting of lease clauses) (January 2015) (with Vivien King) Estates Gazette.
- ‘Expert determinations and the powers of the court’ (2012) Development Disputes: Current issues for property Litigators (Wilberforce Chambers)
- Stokes v Cambridge: What does it say? How does it help? (2008) Hot Topics in Property Law: A Surveyor’s Guide (Wilberforce Chambers)
- Guide to the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (joint author)
- Past contributor to Halsbury’s Laws of England on Landlord and Tenant and on Compulsory Acquisition of Land
Clerk details
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