Andrew Ryan

He has significant experience in environmental law as it applies to the operation and acquisition of businesses, and in property transactions. He has advised over the past 20 years on all aspects of environmental regulation including environmental permitting, enforcement and appeals, environmental assessments and environmental insurance. He has particular expertise in dealing with contaminated land including risk assessments, advising on liability, mitigation strategies and contract negotiation to apportion risk appropriately. Andrew also regularly advises on the environmental aspects of development projects including Environmental Impact Assessment and Habitats Regulation Assessments.

Jurisdiction: Northern Ireland, England & Wales 

• Advising a major Institutional UK Landowner –on potential contaminated land liability arising from contamination of multiple sites by PFAS and potential links to drinking water supplies, both for managing ongoing operational sites and allocating liability on the sale of land.
• Advising a multinational food manufacturer on the proposed sale of its premises and management strategies relating to pre-sale remediation of heavily contaminated areas of the site, and allocation of liability post-sale.
• Advising a multinational tyre manufacturer on the sale of a former factory site with significant known and unknown contamination, including the transfer of liability to the purchaser and adequacy of joint environmental insurance policies.
• Advising social housing developers on environmental liability clauses for sale/development agreements on numerous development sites, taking into account the nature of the risk on a site by site basis and with a particular focus on what is considered acceptable in the market with regard to the allocation/retention of liability and scope of environmental indemnities.
• Advising a UK renewables developer on liability and remediation strategies relating to an urban development site with substantial Japanese knotweed growth that was also spreading off-site, including the extent of liability for the landlord and dealing with off-site risks.
• Advising a major water utility on EIA screening for the proposed upgrade of a large-scale water treatment works, confirming that an Environmental Statement was not required and that the scheme could proceed under permitted development rights.
• Advising developers of a wide range of major projects including wind farms, energy from waste plants, housing developments and retail/commercial parks on the scope and content of Environmental Impact Assessments and associated Habitats Regulation Assessments, including defending judicial review proceedings arising from challenges against those assessments and other environmental impacts.
• Advising a major water utility company on the EIA scoping assessment and Habitats Regulation Assessment for a significant water treatment project that required “screening out” of EIA in order to rely upon permitted development rights. Also advised Defra on a similar screening exercise for port inspection facilities where again the proposal sought to rely upon permitted development rights rather than seeking planning permission.