Top planning and infrastructure QC joins Keating Chambers

Leading planning and infrastructure specialist Charles Banner QC has joined Keating Chambers with effect from 1 July.

The set said Banner “has a heavyweight domestic and international practice, principally focused on (i) planning & environmental regulation, (ii) public procurement, competition & state aid and (iii) commercial dispute resolution in the context of development and infrastructure.”

He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2004 and the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2010. He was appointed a QC in 2019 (at 38, the youngest of the 2019 silks).

His recent experience includes high profile judicial reviews concerning the HS2 and Stansted Airport Expansion projects, the Heathrow Airport Expansion litigation (the Plan B Earth and Heathrow Hub cases) concerning climate change and competition issues in the context of airport expansion, Rosneft’s and Gazprom’s challenges in the EU Courts to the EU sanctions on the Russian oil sector, acting for the successful appellants in the ground-breaking Faraday procurement case, and the widely reported Wylde case concerning the circumstances in which parties who are not economic operators under the Public Contracts Regulations can bring a claim for judicial review alleging a breach of the Regulations.

Banner described his move as “a great opportunity for synergies between my practice areas and those of other barristers at Keating. I am hugely excited by the range of shared projects, instructing solicitors & consultants, and clients that we have, from our experiences of serving different stages of the life cycle of development projects in every corner of England & Wales and Northern Ireland as well as internationally.”

Declan Redmond, CEO of Keating Chambers, said: “Charles has a very successful legal practice in the development and infrastructure sector and his commercial expertise in planning, public procurement, environmental and public law is a great addition and extension to what we offer to clients.”

Marcus Taverner QC, Head of Keating Chambers, added: “We welcome Charles to Keating.  We are very fortunate to have a barrister of his calibre and experience joining us.”