James Harrison

James Advises

• Multi national operators in the mineral extraction and waste industries
• Individual landowners and landed estates involved in mineral extraction
• Small companies and individuals in general commercial property matters such as retail, offices, restaurants and cafes, studios and charities, industrial sites
• Small residential developers acquiring land for residential development and selling on

Experience Highlights

• Negotiating and completing options for mineral leases both as extensions to existing company quarries and also as new stand-alone green field new quarries with the respective landowners
• Negotiating and completing associated planning agreements, mineral leasehold easements, pre-emption agreements, put and call options, bond arrangements with the landowners and the respective local authorities
• Project of disposing of 10 sites with options to lease back the mineral reserves and negotiating the options for the mineral leases with each respective buyer including disposing of 3 diverse land holdings as part of a single lot and 2 other diverse landholdings as part of another lot
• Acting for the operating company in JV arrangement where there were significant number of different landholding interests including first and reversionary mineral leases, road leases and planning agreements
• Negotiating an option for a mineral lease with a significant estate where the estate owned part of the land and the operating company owned the other part with a view for both the estate and the operating company to develop both landholdings post extraction for a significant housing development
• Negotiating documentation for a Treasury Style arrangement acquisitions of mineral interests as an alternative structure to an option for mineral lease
• Options for landfill leases and landfill leases
• Negotiating and completing associated supply agreements
• Disposing of 6 diverse landholdings freehold and leasehold to aggregate bagging company
• Land swap transactions involving a mix of 6 aggregate and ready-mix concrete diverse landholdings to Tarmac/ Lafarge
• Negotiating and renewing 5 leases with Network Rail as part of a single lot for the operating company’s rail and asphalt businesses
• Negotiating option for a lease of alternative fuel plant to Sita to assist in the operating of the company’s main cement plant in Rugby
• Acquiring, renewing, and disposing of leases in the operating company’s ready-mix concrete, asphalt, building products and rail products portfolio.
• Disposing of up to £150 million of diverse surplus operating company’s landholdings over a period of 6 years ranging from £5 million to £10,000 including detailed overage arrangements, disposals for residential development, related planning agreements and auction sales
• Significant first registrations of unregistered titles of the operating company’s landholdings
• Assisting in the disposal of the operating company’s angling business in several different lots

Career History

Previous Law firms

• Consultant Property Solicitor, Garner and Hancock Solicitors, Isleworth (July 2020-April 2024)
• Head of Commercial Property, Garner and Hancock Solicitors, Isleworth (April 2019-July 2020)
• Consultant Minerals and Waste Solicitor, Gunnercooke (August 2018-April 2019)
• In House Property Solicitor, Cemex Uk Operations Limited, Thorpe, (October 2001-August 2018)
• Property Solicitor, Hamilton Downing Quinn (July 1999-August 2001)
• Property Solicitor, Walker Martineau (October 1997-July 1999)
• Property Solicitor, Tweedie and Prideaux (September 1996-September 1997)
• Trainee Solicitor, Tweedie and Prideaux (September 1994-September 1996)

Education

• College of Law Guildford
• University of North Wales, Bangor – BA (Hons) History