Top names line up for environment conference

Cyril Dixon reports

A conference on changes in the law regarding contaminated land is expected to attract large numbers of council lawyers. The event will explore the legal implications of new legislation such as the Environment Act 1995.

Conference organiser Hawksmere has booked a roll-call of senior figures in environmental law to speak.

They include Andrew Flockhart, assistant chief executive at Wolverhampton Council, who will discuss how to handle contaminated land in practice.

The Environment Act, which received Royal Assent in July, sets out the framework for dealing with contaminated land.

Lawyers addressing the seminar are John Garbutt, partner and head of planning and environment at London firm Nicholson Graham & Jones, and Steven Scates, a solicitor in the same department.