Member News

On the 29 November, the Norwich Highways Agency Committee reviewed the results of the public consultation on the creation of a southbound (uphill) bus lane on Grapes Hill.Approval was given forthe scheme to proceed.

Work is planned to start on the bus lane in April 2013, but this will be dependent on other schemes on the network.

The creation of a bus lane will reduce journey times for buses using this route by several minutes.

To read more about the Grapes Hill bus lane, and the Better Bus Area project click here.

Corporate solicitor Edward O’Rourke is to take over the helm at ‘regional heavyweight’ law firm Ashton KCJ in January 2013. He succeeds Simon Smith who will leave after a highly successful decade during which, first as Managing Partner and then as CEO, he brought the firm through two mergers to the strong regional player it is today.

Mr O’Rourke was elected to the role by the firm’s partners who at the same time elected Mark Merriam as Chair of the Partnership Board and agreed upon a new internal management structure. Both the CEO and Chair appointments are for a minimum term of three years.

Mr O’Rourke, 44, is the ideal candidate to maintain and develop the progressive agenda started by Mr Smith. He came into the law having previously run service sector businesses. He was described in this year’s Legal 500 directory as “personable yet professional, and willing to take the commercial view” – essential qualities for a law firm CEO. He currently heads Ashton KCJ’s Corporate and Commercial team, a role which will be taken on by Geoff Hazlewood when Mr O’Rourke takes over as CEO from 1st January. Mr O’Rourke has worked in East Anglia since 1998 and lives in Norwich.

Mr Smith says: “We have had a very positive first year since our merger in October 2011, including recruiting excellent new legal talent, retaining this year’s home-grown trainees when they qualified, gaining accolades from Legal 500 and Chambers that I had envisaged taking until at least next year to obtain, and recently winning a national award for our new website.

Ed has all the hallmarks of an excellent CEO and I’m supremely confident in his ability to steer Ashton KCJ successfully through the next phase of its development. From a personal perspective I’m delighted to be handing the mantle on to a very capable younger man and moving on to some other professional and personal challenges – at 57 I need to start them now while I am still young enough to give of my best!”.

Mr O’Rourke adds: “The legal profession is facing exciting but challenging times. Simon has brought Ashton KCJ to a point where we are ideally poised to capitalise on the opportunities available. We have a full regional presence in our core geographic market, complemented by niche areas of expertise in franchising law and French legal services, and an acknowledged position as regional market leader for personal and medical injury work. My job is to ensure that we continue to develop the services, and the means of delivering them, which our clients require, and consistently attract top legal and managerial talent to make this happen. I’m lucky to be stepping into the CEO role supported by an excellent team and I’m hugely looking forward to the opportunities ahead”.

Photographed from left to right: Simon Smith and Edward O’Rourke.

Chair of the National Self-Build Association Ted Stevens paid a visit to Lucas Hickman Smith today to discuss the next steps of our drive to promote an increase in self-build in Norfolk.

Over the last three years NaSBA has been working with the government on a range of measures to make it easier for people in the UK to build or commission their own homes, culminating in the inclusion of a ‘self-build clause’ in the National Planning Policy Framework published in April this year. The clause places local authorities under a new duty to assess the demand for self-build land in their area, then make plans to meet that demand. NaSBA has just published guidance for local authorities and developers on the new policies and how they are being implemented across the country.

Local authorities in the west and south-west of England have been the quickest to rise to the self-build challenge, with the east of England apparently lagging behind. Earlier this year, with this in mind, we published a discussion paper, ‘Self-Build Norfolk’, setting out the potential benefits of self-build to local housing-delivery and small businesses in the area – builders, materials suppliers, and maybe even architects (!)

The paper is available at www.selfbuildnorfolk.co.uk, where you can also find details of how to express your support for Self-Build Norfolk to your local council.

Flagship is a high-performing housing association with over 22,000 homes across East Anglia.

Based in Norwich, we employ just over 500 staff across Norfolk and Suffolk and are building up to 200 new homes every year.

We are a strong business with excellent financial and operating results. But we want to do so much more to position our company successfully for the future, in an increasingly tough operating environment.

Our purpose is ‘to create places where people want to live’.

We have ambitious business objectives – to achieve 100% customer satisfaction and sector-leading operational costs, and we are looking for two non-executive directors with successful entrepreneurial/commercial backgrounds to join our board team.

You will share our vision – to be an exemplary company – share our passion for continuous improvement, and bring new ideas, creativity and thinking to improve our performance and service delivery to our existing and future customers.

If you have the strategic vision and ambition to help us meet our aspirations, we’d love to hear from you.

For an information pack and details on how to apply, visit www.flagship-housing.co.uk/corporatetalent

Closing date for completed applications: 21 December 2012

After two years of development and a rigorous period of testing the Social Impact Measurement Toolbox from The Guild Social Economy Services CIC is now in production and available.

Aimed at small to medium sized organisations, this ‘consultant in a box’ takes into account your starting point and the extent of changes that might occur, shows how to provide the most useful/robust information to those who need it and makes the most of what you already do. It also prepares you to do more, ending with an Action Plan for you to put in place to measure the social impact of the work that you do.

What you can expect from the Toolbox:

• Six carefully designed sections that help you and your organisation think about social impact measurement, with the option to start at the beginning and work your way through all the materials or begin where it is appropriate for you.
• Help to build a robust impact measurement plan from the foundations upward, rather than jumping in with a complex tool or framework from the start. (Our Guide to Getting Started in Social Impact Measurement can help you select which well-known tools and approaches suit you best – but that’s the next stage once you’ve laid the foundations!)
• The opportunity to identify and deal with any gaps or to check if you are collecting information you don’t currently use.
• Development of your organisation’s approach to social impact measurement – but at the same time build your team’s communication, skills and knowledge around impact measurement too.

“I am really impressed with the Toolbox which appears simple to use and clear to understand” Louise Forey, Community Development Officer – Severn Vale Housing Society

Each Toolbox costs £120.00 plus carriage, packing and VAT. Further information and details of how to place an order can be found on the Social Impact Measurement page of The Guild website or call us on 01603 482220.

Barry has spent most of his professional career at a top financial services company and a claims management company, where he gained a wealth of experience in a number of senior positions across general insurance; from operations, project management, risk and governance through to claims, strategy and business development.

At Leathes Prior Barry will work alongside the partners to help devise, develop and deliver a comprehensive marketing strategy for business development and awareness-raising for the firm’s existing services on a local and national basis.

Barry comments: “I am thrilled to be joining such an established, market-leading and innovative law firm. The opportunities that we have to develop and shape our business to meet the needs of our existing and future clients is very exciting and I am looking forward to being part of the team.”

Mike Barlow, Managing Partner comments: “Having worked alongside Barry in the past I am delighted he has decided to join our team and I have no doubt that his talents will prove invaluable in helping us realise our plans for the future.”

Our latest article is out and examines why and how to plan for driving customers to your website. Too many companies think about this AFTER their new website has gone live and we show you why it needs to be done BEFORE you design your website. We also look at the different tactics you can use to drive traffic to your website and some examples. Please take a look, as we know you will find it useful. As always, your feedback is most welcome.

Click here to see our “How to drive relevant traffic to your website” article.

A recent decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that a redundancy dismissal without any prior warning or consultation was not unfair. Employment Principal Lorna Townsend and Trainee Solicitor Laura Tanguay report.

The facts

The Claimant in this case had been employed by the Respondent company as the Head of Human Resources and Payroll and was known by the title of Associate Director.

Following the economic downtown, the Respondent’s revenue was significantly reduced and fundamental changes were consequently implemented across the entire business. As part of the restructuring, a new and more senior role of HR Director was created and offered to another individual, who had a Masters Degree in Management Development and 20 years of experience in senior HR roles. There was no advertisement of the vacancy; the Claimant was not told of or interviewed for the position.

The Respondent decided that the Payroll Manager could absorb the Claimant’s payroll responsibilities, and other company administrative tasks for which the Claimant had responsibility could be undertaken by the Legal and Operations Director. Consequently, the Claimant’s role was redundant and he was therefore dismissed on grounds of redundancy without warning or consultation. The Claimant issued a claim for unfair dismissal.

The ET decision

At the employment tribunal, the Claimant argued that his employer should have consulted with him and that he should have been appointed to, or at the very least interviewed and considered for, the new HR Director role. At the hearing, the tribunal dismissed the claim for unfair dismissal, holding that, “consultation with the claimant would serve little purpose and would have been a sham which would not have been to the claimant’s benefit”.

The Claimant appealed to the EAT.

The EAT decision

The EAT dismissed the Claimant’s appeal. It agreed with the ET that in this instance it would have been futile to have consulted with the Claimant, with the EAT noting that, “this was, in truth, a case far from the ordinary case of redundancy selection; it concerned a manager in a very senior post which was being lost due to a substantial reorganisation”.

The dismissal was therefore fair, despite the company having not warned or consulted with the Claimant.

Comment

This case illustrates that, in some (limited) circumstances, it may not be necessary or appropriate to consult with an employee facing redundancy where that consultation process would be futile, particularly if the employee is very senior. However, this decision should be approached with caution as in the majority of cases it will still be advisable for employers to properly consult with employees, in order to avoid a finding of unfair dismissal.

A copy of the EAT judgment is available here.

The latest in a series of fundraising initiatives by Norwich based insurance brokers Hugh J Boswell has resulted in a cheque for more than £7,000 being handed over to the East Anglian Air Ambulance this week.

On the last weekend of September 2012, staff from Hugh J Boswell hosted a networking dinner at The Waterside Rollesby where thanks to the support of local businesses, the event raised over £2,500.

Two days later Hugh J Boswell, along with fellow Norwich based law firm Howes Percival LLP, entered a team of 27 runners into the East Anglian Air Ambulance Runway Run. Following the event, the months of training and intense fundraising paid off when the team was awarded the prize for largest event fundraiser.

In total, Hugh J Boswell raised £7,336 over the weekend, in addition to the £6500 already raised in the last year since the firm started its three-year commitment to raise £20,000 for the air ambulance charity.

Peter Foster, Director, Hugh J Boswell said: “We’re all thoroughly enjoying our three-year commitment to raising these funds for such a worthwhile charity, which we feel passionate about supporting”.

The Government has launched a web app, called “Sorting out Separation”, which offers parents advice and shows where they can access further support. It is, claims the government, a “one-stop-shop for any parent going through a separation”. Emma Alfieri reports.

The Department for Work & Pensions press release details a YouGov poll out today (commissioned by the DWP) which found that 300,000 families experience separation every year. The poll also found that around five million parents have gone through separation and further that over four million children now live in separated families – which is, it states, equal to a third of children in Britain.

Work and Pensions Minister, Steve Webb, said “The app covers everything from how to avoid a separation to coping with the emotional impact of breaking up, accessing legal or housing support and arranging child maintenance. The Department for Work and Pensions worked closely with the Department for Education and Ministry of Justice in developing the new service, in conjunction with the voluntary and community sector. It forms part of a £20m fund announced earlier this year to help support separating parents”.

Emma Alfieri from our family law team comments: “This app has no doubt been developed in light that legal aid funding for most family law cases will come to end in April next year. Whilst the app will be an informative tool for parents, it is certainly no substitute for taking specialist legal advice, which is always recommended on separation”.

For further help with family law matters please contact our family law team.

Steeles Law Head of Planning & Environment David Merson looks at the Coalition’s proposals to amend the permitted development regime to extend development rights for homeowners and businesses without having to apply for planning permission.

As previously reported the Coalition is planning to make a number of changes to the planning regime in order to reduce bureaucracy, speed up the process, reduce cost and contribute to the drive towards growth as part of its concerted economic stimulation package.

As part of that process, proposed changes to the permitted development regime were announced but until now we had not seen the detail of the proposals. That is no longer the case with the publication (12th November 2012) of the associated consultation document.

The gist of the proposed changes is set out below.

Residential

The proposal is that in non-protected areas (see below) the current position that single-storey rear extensions with a depth beyond the rear wall of 4m for a detached house, and 3m for any other type of house, are permitted subject to various limitations should be increased to 8m for a detached house, and 6m for any other type of house. This would also cover conservatories at the rear of properties.

No changes are proposed for flats and extensions of more than one storey and all other current limitations and conditions remain the same e.g.:

• Development can only cover up to 50% of the curtilage of the house;
• Single-storey extensions must not exceed 4m in height;
• Extensions with eaves higher than 3m must not be within 2m of the boundary;
• Building regulations, Party Wall Act requirements and the ‘right to light’ continue to apply; and
• NPPF policies on ‘garden-grabbing’ remain in force

These proposals do not permit separate outbuildings for residential accommodation (beds in sheds), or for the creation of separate residential units although the Coalition recognises that garages conversions can provide a valuable source of extra space, and wherever possible, families should be able to adapt them to meet their changing needs.

Retail

The proposal is that for shops and financial / professional services establishments outside of protected areas (see below), the current limits permitting extensions by up to 50m², provided that this does not increase the gross floor space of the original building by more than 25%, should be raised to 100m² and 50% respectively including the right to build up to the boundary of the premises, except where the boundary is with a residential property, when the requirement to leave a 2m gap along the boundary would remain.

Other limitations and conditions would remain the same, and existing protections under other regimes will continue to apply e.g.:

• The height of the building as extended must not exceed 4m; or
• The development must not consist of changes to a shop front, or extensions beyond a shop front.

Offices

The proposal is that for offices outside of protected areas (see below), the current limit on extensions of up to 50m², provided that this does not increase the gross floor space of the original building by more than 25%, should be raised to 100m² and 50% respectively.

Other limitations and conditions would remain the same, and protections under other regimes will continue to apply e.g.:

• Buildings within 10m of the boundary must not be more than 5m high;
• In other cases the extension cannot exceed the height of the existing building; and
• New extensions must not be within 5m of the boundary.

Industrial

At present, new industrial buildings or warehouses which are up to 100m² in size can be built within the curtilage of an existing industrial building or warehouse in a non-protected area, provided that this does not increase the gross floor space of the original building by more than 25%.

The proposal is that outside of protected areas (see below), these limits should be raised to 200m² and 50% respectively.

The other current limitations and conditions would remain the same, and existing protections under other regimes will continue to apply e.g.:

• Buildings within 10m of the boundary must not be more than 5m high;
• There must be no building within 5m of the boundary; and
• There must be no reduction in the space available for parking or turning of vehicles.

Time limit

These proposed changes should be in place for a period of three years, starting from the date at which the secondary legislation implementing these changes comes into force.

It is also proposed that developments will have to be completed by the end of the three-year period.

There will be a notification requirement and homeowners and businesses wishing to exercise their rights under these changes will be required to notify the local planning authority on completion of the development. Where this notification is not received by the end of the three-year period, the development will not count as permitted development, and could be subject to enforcement action.

Protected areas

The proposed changes will not apply to protected areas or ‘article 1(5) land’ which are in essence National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Conservation areas, World Heritage Sites and the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads. Similar protection will be retained for Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).

Telecommunications

At present, Part 24 of the General Permitted Development Order provides that fixed broadband apparatus such as cabinets, telegraph poles, and overhead lines have permitted development rights subject to a prior approval process on ‘article 1(5) land’. This allows local planning authorities to consider the siting and appearance of communications apparatus before development commences.

The proposal is to remove this prior approval requirement as it applies to article 1(5) land for a period of five years provided that all works are completed by the end of that period although the prior approval requirement will, for obvious reasons, continue to apply in respect of SSSIs.

Comment

While the vast majority of the proposals are likely to be welcomed, at least by those looking to implement development proposals that might previously have required planning permission but no longer do so, one cannot help wondering what the proposals are going to do for neighbourly relations where the opportunity to comment on a proposal in advance of its implementation is no longer available. It is also anticipated that the telecommunications proposal is going to give rise to considerable comment and vigorous debate given the various conflicting interest groups.

Consultation

The current consultation began on 12th November and runs for a six week period closing on the 24th December 2012.

Thereafter, there will no doubt be a period of reflection on the consultation responses before the final proposal is published in the form of a Statutory Instrument amending the General Permitted Development Order.

That being the case, it is advisable to await publication thereof before embarking on any such development proposal.

Full details of the proposals and consultation can be found here.

If you require further information or advice on any issues raised in this article or any other planning & environmental matter please contact David Merson on 020 7421 1720 or dmerson@steeleslaw.co.uk.

London, November 26, 2012 – Two senior professionals from the Norwich office of Intellectual Property (IP) consultancy Novagraaf have been recognised for their expertise in diverse IP fields. The work of European Trademark Attorney Susan Wall was recommended along with Novagraaf UK in the 2013 edition of the Legal500, while European and UK Patent Attorney Dr Oliver Harris has been elected as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA). Novagraaf is proud to be the only dedicated patent and trademark consultancy in Norfolk to be featured in the Legal500 (2013 edition), and the only provider in Norwich whose patent professionals are all Fellows of CIPA.

Susan Wall is a European Trademark Attorney with specific expertise in the strategic management of IP portfolios in a broad range of industries. She advises clients on all aspects of UK and foreign trademark work, both contentious and non-contentious, and acts for clients before the UK and European Community Trade Mark (CTM) IP offices registering and defending trademark rights.

Her work was recommended in the 2013 edition of the Legal500, along with Alastair Rawlence from Novagraaf UK’s Manchester office, and Novagraaf UK’s Trademark Practice as a whole. Commenting on her recommendation, Ms Wall says: “We work hard at Novagraaf Norwich to deliver to our clients a quality service that is as tailored to their specific needs as it is professional and effective. On a personal note, it is incredibly gratifying that our clients have recognised the quality of the advice that we provide, and the effort that we dedicate to ensuring that our work supports them and their business needs.”

Dr Oliver Harris is a dual-qualified UK and European Patent Attorney with extensive experience of drafting and prosecuting patent applications on both a national and overseas basis. He handles a range of subject matter for Novagraaf UK’s clients in the East of England, but specialises in the Life Sciences, particularly pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. He was elected as a Fellow of CIPA by other Fellows of the Institute in recognition of his qualifications, good repute and professional standing.

Commenting on his appointment, Dr Harris says: “Norfolk and the East of England is a vibrant business region and a real hub for innovation. The companies that operate here need strategic partners who share their vision and appetite for quality. That’s why the Norwich office has invested so much in its team, and their ongoing training and professional growth. We are constantly striving to be the best at what we do, so that our clients get the best results without needing to look outside the region for the appropriate level of knowledge, expertise and service.”

Tom Farrand, head of Novagraaf UK’s Trademark Practice, comments: “As IP protection becomes ever more important for companies seeking to build and enforce their businesses regionally, nationally and globally, it’s crucial for IP consultancy firms to be able to provide both global and tailored local support. The wider Novagraaf Group has the resources and the experience to support businesses wherever they operate with IP-specific solutions that provide insight and deliver value, while the regional offices of Novagraaf UK specialise in tailoring those solutions to their local clients via the expertise of professionals such as Susan, Alastair and Oliver. It is this local and bespoke approach that we believe makes a real difference to our clients in the UK.”

About Novagraaf Headquartered in the Netherlands, the Novagraaf Group has offices throughout Europe in IP hotspots such as Amsterdam, Brussels, Geneva and Paris. Its UK operation is based in London, Manchester and Norwich.

Novagraaf is among the top five service providers in the field of IP in Europe. Novagraaf currently employs over 350 dedicated professionals and staff members through its 13 offices and offers a wide range of advisory and management services in the IP field. For more information, visit our website: www.novagraaf.com.