Biography
Claire is the Head of the Planning and Environment Team which is a team of 12 specialist planning and environmental lawyers who practice in a variety of locations across the UK.
Over the last 18 years since qualification, Claire has built a solid reputation for undertaking contentious and non-contentious environmental and planning work.
Claire's current practice is split between environmental and planning matters across a range of sectors which includes residential development for volume house builders and more bespoke residential led development as well as build to rent and student led accommodation, commercial development, waste management, maritime and renewable energy. This gives Claire the technical expertise to manage complex and challenging planning and environmental issues.
She regularly writes articles and has been featured in the Ends Report, Estates Gazette, Property Week and the Property Law Journal on planning and environmental matters and appears on podcasts (50 shades of planning and Irwin Mitchell) as well as being a judge for the Planner’s Women of Influence 2022 and named as one of the Top 100 environmental professionals by ENDS in its inaugural ENDS Power List.
Recent highlights:
- Advising a large port group in respect of environmental liability and damage in relation to its operations
- Advising a significant city centre regeneration scheme - residential led, mixed use scheme of an important historic city centre building
- Acting for Whitley Parish Council in relation to its High Court and Court of Appeal challenge against the re-working of PFA
- Bespoke due diligence in relation to an acquisition by a waste company for various operations and sites
- Advising a PLC in relation to its acquisitions of multi-site fuel businesses in particular the ongoing environmental liability
- Representing a waste organisation in relation to an odour statutory nuisance claim
- Advising a waste organisation in relation to liability under the Environmental Permitting Regulations
- Representing a large wood recycler in respect of an investigation and prosecution brought by the Environment Agency
- Negotiating Section 106 Agreement for a north west housing, retail and commercial scheme
- Advising a luxury car company in relation to renewable energy schemes to offset its carbon emissions
- Advice and representation of a developer for a large scale city centre regeneration scheme
- Advising a large PRS developer in respect of both specialist environmental due diligence on site acquisition as well as negotiation of statutory agreements
Testimonials
"Claire is absolutely first class. She has sound legal and tactical judgement." "Claire is extremely well organised, personable, very knowledgeable about current developments in law and policy, and a pleasure to work with." "Claire is very tenacious and committed to looking after her clients." - Chambers & Partners, 2025 (Leading Individual - Band 2)
"The team is led by the very committed and capable Claire Petricca-Riding, and has grown steadily under her leadership. With Claire in charge it will be able to deal with the most substantial matters and will be highly client-focused.’"
"Both Claire Petricca-Riding and Keith Davidson are standout individuals. Both have a passion for their practice area, and work well together to create a team full of energy and drive to support clients across their respective practice areas. Claire has created an enviable team in Manchester."- Legal 500, 2025 (Leading Partner)
"Claire Petricca-Riding – excellent technical abilities combined with a pragmatic outlook. Excellent people skills and good to deal with." - Legal 500, 2023 (Leading Individual)
Leading Individual - Band 3 - Chambers & Partners, 2022
“Claire Petricca Riding has fantastic client-facing skills and is a great communicator. [She] is very client focused and a good tactician. She is good at thinking outside of the box.” - Legal 500 2022 (Leading Individual)
Claire Petricca-Riding "has more than a decade of specialist experience, initially with niche firms and now bringing her experience to larger commercial firms…"Claire understands the clients’ businesses in the specialist waste industry. She has in-depth knowledge of waste regulation, and also experience as a litigator." - Legal 500, 2021 (Leading Individual)
"Claire is enormously dedicated to her work and her clients. "She is well respected, very straight-talking, easy to get on with and forward-thinking in her approach." - Chambers & Partners, 2021 (Leading Individual - Band 3)
'Claire Petricca-Riding is particularly experienced and able when dealing with environmental problems and development agreements; clients love what she does because she is so commercially grounded' - Legal 500, 2020
'Thorough and has a great tactical overview of her client’s position which means that she gets the best for them, both in and out of court’ - Legal 500, 2019
'Heads the planning and environment team and is rated for her encyclopaedic knowledge and remarkable tenacity'
- Legal 500, 2018
Claire is also ranked in Chambers & Partners 2020.
