Paul McLean

Senior Associate

Practice areas

• Consumer
• Education
• Energy and infrastructure
• Real estate

Practice notes

Paul is a Senior Associate in the National Planning and Infrastructure Consenting team at Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP.

He has experience in advising on all areas of planning law including planning application and appeal strategies; legal challenges; planning enforcement matters; Community Infrastructure Levy issues; and Environmental Impact Assessments. Paul also drafts and negotiates complex S106 obligations and S278/38 highway agreements.

Paul primarily acts for a wide range of clients including commercial developers, national house builders, renewable energy developers; educational institutions; local authorities and public sector regeneration bodies. He is able to work alongside clients to shape the strategy for bringing forward development schemes and advise on the legal and technical aspects of the consenting process.

Paul also regularly speaks at a number of specialist planning events including to the Royal Town Planning Institute, the RTPI Young Planners and for the Northern Housing Consortium.

Paul’s recent experience includes:

North East – advising a national house builder on the implications of the Community Infrastructure Levy regime and drafting representations in relation to the draft charging schedule submitted for examination by the local authority.

North East and Yorkshire & Humber – providing support and advice to a number of national house builders in relation to planning application strategies for medium to large scale residential applications as well as drafting numerous complex planning obligations to support planning applications and appeals for such development.

Yorkshire & Humber – advising on all planning aspects of a multi-million pound food-anchored retail park and residential development. Paul advised on the planning application submission, the drafting of statutory agreements and on negotiations with third parties in relation to matters of common interest including access and utility connections. Paul was also engaged to advise in relation to a threatened judicial review challenge and was successful in securing a challenge free consent.

Yorkshire & Humber – advising on the planning application strategy and negotiating statutory agreements relating to a residential led redevelopment proposal for up to 1,100 dwellings.

South Wales – advising renewable energy developers in relation to planning application, planning appeal and judicial review strategies and securing planning permission both on application and appeal for onshore wind turbine development for those clients. In particular, Paul successfully acted for the Interested Party in R (on the application of Hubert) –v- Carmarthenshire County Council and others [2015] EWHC 2327 (admin) and ensured that the client’s permission was successfully defended from a claim for judicial review.

South East – successfully advising a renewable energy developer and securing planning permission on appeal for an onshore wind farm.