Partner, Head of Compulsory Purchase

She is a Board Director of the Compulsory Purchase Association and a Legal Associate Member of the RTPI.
Debbie has 19 years' experience of advising on all aspects of planning, regeneration and infrastructure and leads TLT's Compulsory Purchase practice.
She is experienced in CPO promotion, and complex compulsory purchase compensation claims for both public and private clients. This includes contested proceedings in the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber).
She provides strategic advice and technical guidance on compulsory purchase, together with related planning and highways issues, and advises Members in Committee on CPO, blight, appropriation and compensation related issues.
Debbie chairs the CPA’s Working Group on procedural compulsory purchase reform, and regularly speaks on various aspects of compulsory purchase.
She is ranked as a “Next Generation Partner” in Legal 500 and a “Up and Coming” in Chambers.
Jurisdiction: England and Wales
Experience
Successfully promoting the £92.5M Middlewich Eastern Bypass highway scheme for Cheshire East Council, which is now in the process of being implemented, including all stages of the process from order making through to public Inquiry and confirmation, and including advice on compensation issues
Successfully promoting the £300M+ Access to Didcot Village Scheme for Oxfordshire County Council, on land assembly issues and statutory orders (CPO, SRO, and Bridge Scheme) which was the subject of a called-in planning Inquiry and Inquiries into the CPO, SRO and Bridge Scheme heard over three months in 2024. The scheme was granted planning in December 2024 and the statutory orders confirmed with modifications in June 2025.
Acting for Stockport MBC in relation to references to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) for the determination of CPO compensation as a result of the A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road, including the reported cases of: Garner and Garner v SMBC [2021] UKUT 28 (LC); The Metropolitan Borough Council of Stockport v Unknown Owners [2023] UKUT 53 (LC)
Advising Castlefield Property Ltd on its CPO compensation claim against National Highways, which led to an important decision in the world of compensation surrounding what can and cannot be taken into account as at the valuation date when assessing injurious affection claims.
Recently reported cases
- The Metropolitan Borough Council of Stockport v Unknown Owners [2023] UKUT 53 (LC)
- Taylor and Taylor v The Metropolitan Borough Council of Stockport [2022] UKUT 142 (LC)
- Garner and Garner v The Metropolitan Borough Council of Stockport [2021] UKUT 28 (LC)
- Castlefield Property Limited v National Highways Ltd [2023] UKUT 217 (LC)
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