Local Government, Planning & Environmental Law

Marsdens Local Government, Planning and Environmental Law Department provides comprehensive and practical legal advice in this area. The expertise of Marsdens in this area comes from advising and representing Local Government, Public and Private sector clients and statutory bodies for over 20 years. In recognition of our expertise in this area, we act for over 60 Councils in New South Wales being both regional and metropolitan councils.

Our close day to day involvement with Local Government in providing practical legal advice and in-house seminars and newsletters has been a point of difference between Marsdens and other solicitors in this area for many years. The types of matters that are managed by the Local Government, Planning and Environmental Law Department are wide and varied and include but are not limited to:

Agriculture
Compulsory acquisitions
Environmental protection
General Pollution
Heritage protection
Natural Resources
Neighbour disputes
Noise pollution
Public Health
Town Planning

In Planning and Environmental Law our services include:

Advice on development consent under the EP & A Act.
Advice on due diligence and impact assessment.
Advice on environmental orders.
Advice on land use regulation.
Advice on planning and development approvals and appeals.
Advice on property development.
Advice on regulatory compliance and enforcement.
All associated litigation.
Compensation for compulsory acquisition.
Local Government liaison.

In the area of Local Government our services include:

Advice on obligations in relation to the expanding powers and duties under the Local Government Act 1993.
Representation in the Land & Environment Court including environmental prosecutions, judicial review and commissions of enquiry.

The Local Government Planning and Environmental Law Department consists of NSW Law Society Accredited Specialist who is also an examiner of applicants to become Accredited Specialists as well as solicitors with a broad range of Local Government, Planning, Environmental Law and Commercial Law experience ensuring that Marsdens provide well researched and timely advice in this area.

The 2024 Doyles Guide listing of leading NSW Town Planning & Development Law Firms practising within the areas of town planning, development approvals & appeals as well as local government matters in the NSW legal market recently been announced. These are identified by clients and peers for their expertise and abilities in these areas. We are proud to announce that Marsdens received a Second Tier recognition on this list in 2023 and 2024. The listing can be viewed here. At Marsdens, lawyers in our Local Government, Planning and Environmental Law Department have also been included in these lists over the years, including Adam Seton and Peta Hudson. The recent 2024 Doyles Guide listing can be viewed here.

For more information about our services in Environmental Planning & Local Government contact Adam Seton or David Baird.