A prestigious planning event hosted by No5 Chambers will command added status this year as the firm celebrates its superb showing in an annual survey of the most highly rated planning barristers in the country.

No5’s Annual Planning Seminar to be held at Birmingham’s ICC on May 9 will highlight current and future issues of planning law and practice and aims to provide essential updates for planning professionals.

Fourteen members of the Planning & Environment group will be speaking at the event, which covers a wide range of hot topics from changes to the NPPF to sustainable development.

The seminar is expected to attract professionals including consultants and officers, lawyers, developers, surveyors and architects.

No5 Chambers is widely acknowledged by professionals working in the industry as one of the leading sets of Planning and Environment Barristers in the country. Housing some of the most sought after barristers in the field, members provide advisory and advocacy services to the highest standard and represent clients across both the public and private sectors.

With a strong team of QCs and juniors, backed by a proactive and skilled clerking team, the group has been instructed to represent clients at every level with barristers involved in a wide range of complex and controversial proposals.

Earlier this month, Martin Kingston QC was listed second in The Planning Law Survey’s Top Five Planning Silks nationwide, and was also one of two No5 barristers named as the top two highest rated barristers in the Residential sector, along with his colleague Christopher Young.

And Chris Young was singled out for note, as a non-silk scoring well for residential expertise, having moved up the junior rankings from joint 13th to second.

No5’s Richard Kimblin QC was one of three January silk appointments to shoot up the table of rising stars, making his debut in the top QC rankings.

The Planning Law Survey this year invited the views of those who use the services of barristers, rather than their chambers peers. So as well as private and public sector planning lawyers, planning consultants, senior council officers and developers were asked for their nominations.

As a result, the 2016 rankings showed some significant changes, with new names taking pole position in most categories.

The full list of No5 Chambers placings are as follows:

  • Martin Kingston QC ranked 2 in top rated planning silks
  • Martin Kingston QC ranked 1 in residential sector
  • Christopher Young ranked 2 in residential sector
  • Martin Kingston QC ranked joint 3 in infrastructure sector

In the Top Rated Planning Juniors, Christopher Young was second, Satnam Choongh joint eighth, Peter Goatley joint 12th and Hugh Richards joint 25th

And in the Highest Rated Planning Juniors under 35, Thea Osmund-Smith was joint second with James Corbet Burcher joint eighth.