Biodiversity within the European Union is under threat. Almost a quarter of Europe's vascular plant species and 155 species of its native mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians are threatened with extinction. The Habitats Directive imposes a strict regime for environmental protection. But with the euro zone economy falling from 'stagnation' to 'contraction' in the second quarter of 2012 and the UK entering into a 'double dip' recession in April 2012, European governments face an economic crisis. The English courts have said that the Directive should not become a property developer's obstacle course. Yet the tensions between environmental protection and economic growth are all too readily apparent with the UK government stating both that we must 'arrest the decline in habitats and species and the degradation of landscapes' and later that 'gold plating of EU rules on things like habitats' was putting 'ridiculous costs' on business enterprise. Edited by Gregory Jones QC, The Habitats Directive: A Developer's Obstacle Course? brings together a unique combination of leading academics and practitioners in the field of European environmental and planning law to address and debate controversial issues arising from the Habitats Directive in an authoritative and practical manner. A must for anyone engaged in property development, planning and environmental law.
Gregory Jones KC is a member of Francis Taylor Building. His practice covers all aspects of town & country planning (including major house building), motor sports and other sports development, major infra-structure projects (DCO consents), compulsory purchase, environmental, climate change, parliamentary, EU law and public procurement, as well as administrative law, including judicial review and statutory challenges, education, and local government, where he has appeared in some of the leading cases in these fields.
Gregory is a LA(RTPI), FRGS and Fellow of the Institute of Quarrying, and also practises in Northern Ireland and Ireland. He is a member of the Panel of KCs approved to act for Welsh Government and also separately appointed to the Panel of KCs approved to act for the Northern Ireland Government. Having worked at the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union, Gregory is an acknowledged expert in EU-derived law, especially in respect of the EIA, SEA, Water, Waste and Habitats Regulations. Gregory maintains rights of audience before the EU courts.
Gregory is consistently ranked as leading silk in planning and environmental law both in Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500, and is a Bencher of Lincoln's Inn and Inner Temple. He was appointed by the Irish Government to chair the 2015/16 expert review of An Bord Pleanála (Ireland's national independent planning body). He is an elected Alderman of the City of London and served as Sheriff (2024/25), and is Chancellor of the Diocese of Manchester.
Gregory is the editor and contributor of several books published by Hart and Bloomsbury Professional.
