Richard Broadbent

• Richard defended Natural England against multiple judicial review challenges, including the challenges to Natural England’s bTB licences, Hen Harrier brood management trial licence(s) and a bat species licence issued to HS2.
• Richard worked with Natural England colleagues on Biodiversity Net Gain and the creation of the register/credit scheme which will facilitate mandatory net gain. Richard has also worked on payment for ecosystem services projects and nature-based market mechanisms.
• Richard has worked on a wide variety of nationally significant infrastructure projects, including HS2, Hinkley C and offshore windfarm cases.
• Richard worked on the designation of protected sites including the declaration of National Nature Reserves and notification of SSSIs.
• Richard advises on the impacts of diffuse pollution on protected sites and nutrient neutrality.
• Richard has worked on multiple environmental enforcement cases and appeals for SSSIs, species licence offences and under the EIA Agriculture Regulations.
• Richard has worked on several planning appeal cases involving landscape and visual impacts.
• Richard worked on secondment to the Law Commission on the creation of conservation covenants and with Defra on their inclusion in the Environment Act 2021.

Recent Work

• Richard has extensive experience working with Natural England and Defra on emerging environmental law, particularly the Environment Act 2021 and Nature Green Paper. Richard’s detailed understanding of policy priorities with regards the law and policy for nature conservation is of great benefit to his clients.
• Richard has extensive experience teaching environmental law to Natural England staff/Defra bodies as well as to undergraduate and post-graduate law students at UCL and Exeter University. Richard now works with Penny Simpson to deliver a range of courses for clients on environmental law topics.