A history of involvement with local communities

Getting Started

When approached by potential clients, Dr Le-Las usually asks them to send her enough information to allow her to "get the picture". She then has a meeting with the clients, and any other interested parties, and visits the site and surrounding area. Whatever the level of public outrage, if she does not think the case is based on good planning grounds, she will decline to take it: it is a waste of everyone's time, and the clients money, to fight a case which is almost bound to be lost in the end. If, on the other hand, there is a more than even chance of winning, she will do everything possible to make it happen. By temperament she is a conviction politician - if that phrase has not been brought into disrepute. She will only take a case she believes in: to do otherwise would render her ineffective.

Estimating Costs

It is not until after this preliminary meeting that an estimate can be made of the likely costs involved in fighting the case. Dr Le-Las charges a flat rate but not VAT. She is adept at keeping down costs. Sometimes she just gives advice behind the scenes to clients who feel confident enough to do the job themselves with a little guidance. Unfortunately there are occasions when a development is inevitable so there is no point in fighting it in its entirety. Nonetheless, a smaller but effective case can be mounted in order to fight for appropriate conditions to make life bearable for those in the vicinity.

Building Alliances

If Dr Le-Las is to play a central role, she minimises the time she has to spend on the case. First of all she works out the strategy to win, identifying the key issues and subsidiary points. It is then a question of who will cover the ground. If the local authority and/or statutory agencies like English Nature or the Environment Agency are supportive of the client's case they can usually - but not always - be trusted to present the evidence on certain topics. Sometimes there are NGOs involved such asCPRE, Friends of the Earth, or the local civic society: if they can be relied upon to deal with other aspects of the case, then well and good. This process of elimination enables the clients to focus on what will be their peculiar contribution to the debate. Dr Le-Las works on the principle that the more work the clients can do towards compiling their case, the less it will cost them.

Prospectus

Who will do what?

Her own expertise lies in environmental procedures and policy, and she will cover that part of the case if it is unlikely to be dealt with by other parties. However, she believes that it is a combination of her approach to strategy and local knowledge, which has accounted for successful results over the years. Local people have a key role to play in such battles: they are experts on the subject of the own patch. They are more than capable of supplying her with information from all manner of sources. Sometimes it is necessary to undertake their own research e.g. do a traffic count or social survey. Visual aids can be of great assistance in putting across an argument. Over the years her clients have made maps, compiled albums of photographs, made videos and produced compute mock-ups, all in the good cause of illustrating the problems likely to be caused by a given proposal. Dr Le-Las also uses local witnesses to speak from their experience of living in the area, and explain how a given proposal will impact on the community.

On occasions it is necessary to augment the team with an expert witness on technical or scientific issues e.g. traffic, waste management, acoustic modelling or ecology. Usually Dr Le-Las plays the role of both advocate and witness. Nonetheless, if it is necessary to cross-examine on a technical matter, she will suggest to the clients a barrister who is willing to work for a charitable rate. Dr Le-Las has a wide circle of professional contacts that may be brought into a given case, if required.

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Wendy Le Las Associates 2011