November 6th, 2025
Defending Ancient Woodland: Sabah Siddiq on Upholding Environmental Law
Sabah Siddiq is a Senior Associate in the Planning & Environment team at Lester Aldridge LLP, specialising in environmental and planning law. She advises on judicial reviews, statutory challenges and complex planning matters, and has a strong commitment to environmental protection and access to justice. Sabah regularly collaborates with the Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) to support community-led environmental cases, ensuring that vital environmental laws are upheld.
About the case:
Sabah acted for the Woodland Trust in the High Court case R (oao) The Woodland Trust v Monmouthshire County Council, supported by ELF. The case challenged the council’s decision to approve two additional poultry units in Shirenewton, Wales, amid concerns over ammonia and nitrogen emissions and their impacts on ancient woodland and protected habitats.
With ELF securing early expert legal input and issuing a pre-action protocol letter, the council conceded and the High Court quashed the planning permission. The ruling reaffirmed the obligation of planning authorities to comply with Environmental Impact Assessment regulations and consider environmental risks before granting consent.
What motivated you to get involved in this case?
Given that the Woodland Trust is the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity, for us it was a great opportunity to be involved and to assist the Woodland Trust to protect and preserve any harm to the ancient woodland. It is important to both Matt and I that not only from a professional perspective, but also from personal point that we do everything we can to preserve and protect the environment around us.
What impact do you think the outcome will have?
Hopefully, going forward councils will be more diligent and make sure that they consider any objections raised and review the impacts on the environment, and that they comply with the Planning and Environment Impact Regulations and that any concerns are satisfactorily addressed before any decisions are made.
How did ELF’s coordination or support help make it happen?
ELF took swift action and obtained legal opinion from an expert legal counsel and served a Letter Before Action on the council, to which the council responded and conceded to quashing of the planning permission. ELF provided all the relevant information to us that was required to file an application in the High Court for quashing of the planning permission.
What does pro bono mean to you in practice?
To be able to provide assistance and expertise on a specialist area of law, which is expensive and not easily accessible to those that really require the knowledge and expertise.
Get involved
Sabah’s work highlights the powerful role that pro bono legal support plays in protecting irreplaceable habitats like ancient woodland. Thanks to the combined efforts of ELF, the Woodland Trust and Lester Aldridge, environmental law was upheld — and nature benefited.
Use your skills to support environmental justice. Join ELF’s pro-bono network!