Jessica Elliott

Environmental Law

Jessica developed an interest in all aspects of environmental law when working as a stagiaire at the Court of Justice of the European Union. Since taking up tenancy, she has appeared on environmental and planning matters both led and in her own right, and also undertakes pro bono instructions.

Her work has covered a broad range of environmental law, including claims in nuisance and under waterways and environmental legislation, planning judicial review, and hearings in the First Tier and Upper Tribunals.

Selected Cases

• Network Rail Infrastructure v Williams & Waistell [2018] EWCA Civ 1514: Court of Appeal case on liability for Japanese Knotweed.
• Southern Gas Networks v Thames Water [2018] EWCA Civ 33: Defendant water company found liable to SGN for the cost of customer compensation payments made after leaking water mains caused a gas outage in Christmas 2012.
• R (Holborn Studios) v Hackney Borough Council: Represented one of two successful claimants in the Court of Appeal.
• Mott v Environmental Agency: Led by David Hart QC Court of Appeal confirmed that presence of a continuing legal right was not a bar to a claim under Article 1 Protocol 1 of the ECHR as the circumstances made the effect of the fishing restrictions in question closer to a deprivation rather than a control.
• Forager Ltd v Natural England: Junior to David Hart QC on a the first appeal of its kind in the Upper Tribunal against a stop notice issued by Natural England.
• SGN v Thames Water: Junior to David Hart QC in the Court of Appeal on a case about the recoverability of compensation payments to consumers incurred by a gas transporter following water ingress into the gas system involving important issues about statutory ouster in the context of claims for damages in nuisance.