Shepstone & Wylie’s Planning & Development team assists clients in creating economically viable, environmentally friendly and strategically relevant developments in line with the policies and programmes of both local and national government and their departments.
The firm’s Planning & Development team is made up of practitioners from Local Government & Administration, Corporate & Commercial Law, Property & Conveyancing, Environmental & Clean Energy Law and Litigation.
The Local Government & Administrative Law practitioners represent numerous local authorities, government departments and administrative bodies, as well as other clients who have issues of dispute with similar entities, while taking care to avoid any conflicts of interest.
In terms of Corporate & Commercial Law, clients embarking on business ventures are advised on the most appropriate structures and the various issues and risks that need to be considered, including tax implications. The many laws governing property ownership and development require property practitioners to have a dynamic approach to transactions, and the firm’s Property & Conveyancing department have in-depth experience in this field.
With all planning and development, environmental liability is strict and wide enough to hold government departments, local authorities, companies, parent companies, lenders and even directors and officers responsible for pollution and environmental degradation. For this reason, there are many environmental factors to consider and laws to comply with in respect of planning and development.
The firm’s Planning & Development services include inter alia:
- Construction law
- Building, construction and engineering contracts
- Business establishment and registration
- Commercial advice and agreements
- Tax
- Litigation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
- Development agreements
- Property developments, including commercial, industrial and retail
- Contracts of sale, donation and exchange
- Sectional title, share block schemes and timeshare developments
- Subdivisions and consolidations
- Lease and option agreements
- Property finance and security
- Municipal conveyancing
- Notarial leases, bonds and servitudes
- Private / third party bonds
- Residential / commercial / industrial transfers
- Structuring of property trusts
- Township establishment and development
- Interpretation and enforcement of bylaws, town planning schemes and town planning legislation
- Expropriation claims and disputes
- Interpretation and drafting of various statutes, ordinances, bylaws and regulations
- Legal opinion on the interpretation of legislation and case law
- Judicial review of administrative decisions
- Recovery of property rates for municipalities
- Valuation and administrative appeals
- Environmental auditing and due diligence studies
- Advising on environmental aspects of commercial transactions and agreements
- Environmental authorisation
- Reviewing environmental impact assessments
- Permitting and licensing
- Environmental risk identification and management
- Appeal submissions to the local authorities
- Contamination and remediation advice
- Lender liability advice
