Public sector

Lawyers across Clarke Willmott advise on the issues that affect public sector organisations, from large scale developments involving complicated procurement issues to collecting debts owed to the sector. Our clients include government agencies, urban regeneration companies, local authorities, independent public bodies, clinical commissioning groups and police authorities.

Our expertise is demonstrated by many years of experience in the sector. We have a deep understanding of policy requirements and drivers underlying the public sector’s priorities, negotiating position and decision-making process. We take a commercial approach and our advice is pragmatic and cost effective, adding value to over stretched in house legal teams.

We appreciate that the goals of the public and private sectors need not be mutually exclusive. Our lawyers help the two sectors understand each other, encouraging collaboration to deliver schemes that achieve the required economic development outputs as well as commercial success. Our experience of acting for private sector clients is critical to our ability to anticipate issues and concerns in transactions before they arise, so that we can deliver on time and on budget.

Our clients include:

Ardur and Worthing Council; Bath & North East Somerset Council; Birmingham Council; Bristol City Council; Devon County Council; Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency Gloucester City Council; Highways England; Homes England; Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); Isle of Anglesey Council; Isle of Wight Council; London Borough of Hounslow; Reading Borough Council; Sedgemoor District Council; Somerset County Council; Swindon Borough Council, Taunton Deane Borough Council; The Cornwall Council, The Insolvency Service; The Welsh Ministers; Three Rivers District Council; Watford Borough Council; Welsh Government; and West Midlands Police.

Our expertise in the public sector

Our legal services to the public sector include:

• Commercial property, including acquisition, disposal and negotiating complex development agreements with private sector partners
• Planning advice, including dealing with planning disputes
• Portfolio management including negotiation of leases, licences and asset management documentation
• Real estate asset management
• Registration of complex unregistered land portfolios
• Grant funding advice
• Compulsory purchase, infrastructure and statutory agreements
• Employment law
• Housing, including modular housing
• Debt recovery
• Social housing and housing management
• Procurement procedures, regulation, and procurement disputes
• Construction
• Telecoms

Examples of our recent public sector work

Bath and North East Somerset Council

Our Commercial Property team has acted for the council for many years and on a wide variety of redevelopment regeneration projects, as well as advised in relation to asset management, landlord and tenant and litigation advice. This has included advising on: the redevelopment of Bath Quays South; the Cleveland Pools project to restore this Georgian lido (one of the oldest in the country); advising the council re its obligation to provide gypsy and traveller sites and associated development of those sites; the development of medical centres; the acquisition of land for waste recycling facilities; grant funding agreements; regearing of the council’s leasehold assets; and recovery of vacant possession and property litigation advice.

Isle of Wight Council

We have acted for Isle of Wight Council on a number of projects including negotiating agreements and options over eight parcels of land held by the council for redevelopment in a joint venture scheme between the council and its LLP partner.

Swindon Council

We have acted for Swindon Council for a number of years. The advice has included various matters including: advising on the management, development and use of local sports facilities; advising on land assembly for the Southern Connector Road (multiple options to acquire land against the backdrop of CPO and advising on the CPO process); and advising on the Council’s acquisition of retail and other assets to be held as investments.

The Insolvency Service

Our Debt Recovery team worked with The Insolvency Service over a number of years in respect of the collection of Income Payment Agreements (IPAs), Book Debts and Antecedent/Specialist Recoveries under The Insolvency Act for the benefit of Creditors. The main element of the work with the Insolvency Service related to the recovery of IPAs and at any one time we were dealing with up to 8,000 live cases. In addition to the work undertaken by the debt recovery team, our Restructuring and Insolvency team continue to act for the Insolvency Service in the pursuit of claims against directors and third parties for breach of director duty and associated Insolvency Act 1986 claims, including claims for wrongful and fraudulent trading.

Homes England

Working as an interdisciplinary and nation-wide team in relation to a series of development finance and wider infrastructure (including demolition) and grant funded projects across the UK, our ongoing work includes advising on complex grant funding agreements (including advice as to procurement and subsidy control), dealing with site acquisitions and disposal, providing planning advice and negotiating section 106 agreements, carrying out financial due diligence, negotiating construction contracts and assisting with construction matters.

Why Clarke Willmott?

• We advise the public sector across the board and including in relation to commercial property, planning and environment, construction and procurement, development (including complex acquisition and disposal issues), estate management and property tax.
• We have strong local and public authority experience and are adept at working alongside their in-house legal services and property services.
• We help the public and private sectors understand each other and we encourage working together to deliver schemes which achieve both the required economic development outputs and commercial success.
• We are on the Lawyers in Local Government Framework for the Southern Branch councils.

What our clients say about us

“The entire team that we deal with are knowledgeable, helpful and respond within a timely manner.” The Legal 500 2021

“They are all very responsive and straightforward.” Chambers UK 2021

“Excellent, well organised and well run.” Chambers UK 2021

“Good integration between teams (e.g. DR and insolvency, property etc). Have achieved for us the same outcomes as expensive City firms but at a fraction of the cost.” The Legal 500 2021

Contact our specialist Public Sector team

If you would like to find out more about how our Public Sector team can support your organisation, please call us on 0800 652 8205 or get in touch online.

Clarke Willmott has offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton and Taunton