William Upton KC

Environmental and Planning Law specialist Barrister; KC; CC; Views are my own.

[William Upton KC @willupton]

Well, thought it would help put something down in writing #flooding #environment - short book is also available (!)

[Law Brief Publishing @lawbriefpub]

Read a free online chapter from 'A Practical Guide to the Law of Flood Protection and Flood Claims' by William Upton QC – https://t.co/43aCy1If4i

[William Upton KC @willupton]

The intended end of the “chancery division” - Subject to the making of an Order in Council, the intention is that the new Division “will be established early in the next legal year.” (ie, the one that starts on October )

[Judicial Office @JudiciaryUK]

Today the Lady Chief Justice announces a new Business and Property Division of the High Court. It will bring together specialist courts currently spread across the King’s Bench and Chancery Divisions into one unified structure.

Read more on our website: https://t.co/HVGGf4DFsF

[William Upton KC @willupton]

#Farringdon Without Wardmote - a ceremonial part of the city’s local government- with the beadles, and their maces. Hosted by Haberdashers hall. To discuss what’s new - with new courts, police station, as well as changes to Smithfield inc the new London Museum coming.

[Squarehighways @Squarehighways]

UPDATE ON BANK JUNCTION TAXI TRIAL
We want to hear your views on the ongoing trial to allow licensed taxis to travel across Bank Junction. Your feedback will help us decide if the trial should continue. Please click here for further details and to share your views: https://t.co/AY2VshmOxM

[Thames Path National Trail @ThamesPathNT]

The new Bazalgette Embankment area is now open west of Blackfriars Bridge on the north bank of the Thames, with better access for the Thames Path National Trail, seating and sculptures. Info 👇
https://t.co/S20hkBGPii
📷 @TidewayLondon @visitlondon

[Gideon Amos OBE MP @GideonJAmos]

Councillors no longer to be allowed to decide applications for 150 homes+ This is infantilising of elected representatives and spells the end of meaningful local planning…

[Edward Upton @eUpton]

Traffic from ChatGPT grew by only 2 basis points in August.

At this rate it'll take 4 years to overtake Google as a source of organic traffic for most sites.

That's a big slowdown from 6 months ago.

I feel ChatGPT has only really penetrated early adopters. In the echo chamber of tech nerds on LinkedIn it probably seems inevitable that every person on the internet wouldn't use it daily (I do).

But in the wider world opening up ChatGPT is still a lot more effort than initiating a Google search. Plus consumer habits take years to change.

The bigger problem is that clicks out from Google are dropping fast as AI answers satisfy more searches.

These 'zero click' searches are depriving brand sites of traffic. Traffic from Google was down 83 basis points month-on-month.

And that's before Google even rolled out AI Mode.

Where is your traffic going to come from if it's not from Google?

[City of London @cityoflondon]

We’re consulting on future access at Hampstead Heath’s bathing ponds to ensure arrangements remain fair, lawful & respectful.
Share your views by 25 Nov 👉 https://t.co/ji0Me1jOrz

[City of London @cityoflondon]

We joined @MaceGroup and @CityPolice to celebrate the ‘topping out’ of Salisbury Square - the future justice quarter for the Square Mile, set to open in 2027.

📈£600m investment to boost capacity in the criminal justice system, with faster outcomes for victims.

🏦18 new City court rooms dedicated to economic and cyber crime cases.

👮‍♀️New HQ for City of London Police to cement our position as a leading global business and legal hub

Read more here: https://t.co/urtccVIQHs

[The Olympic Games @Olympics]

This is what 6.30m looks like btw, outrageous.

A 14th World Record for Mondo Duplantis.

#WorldAthleticsChamps

[New London Chamber Ensemble @N_L_C_E]

🎶✨Evelyn Glennie & NLCE: Sound Unbound ✨🎶We’re joining world-renowned percussionist
@DameEvelyn at the @CanterburyFest
📅Fri 17 Oct 2025, 19:30
Programme: Farkas, Barber, Tabakova, Glennie, Keane + new works by Ní Ríain & Philips.
🎟️https://t.co/7w9OP28nha 📷Richard Frew

[William Upton KC @willupton]

#HT ⁦@TheWeekUK⁩ & this letter - that the ⁦@readingmuseum⁩ copy of the Bayeux Tapestry is not a complete copy! (Still worth seeing though)

[Dr Jo Ball @DrJEBall]

I find this funny no matter how many times I see it...

[Queen's Park Official @CoLQueensPark]

🏆 Queen’s Park has won a Green Flag Award! 🌳💚

Proud to be recognised as one of the UK’s best green spaces — a big thank you to our amazing team, volunteers & community! 👏

Come enjoy this award-winning park 🌼🦋

#QueensPark #GreenFlagAward #LoveParks

[Highgate Wood @ColHighgateWood]

🏆 Great news! Highgate Wood has won a Green Flag Award 🌳💚

Proud to be recognised as one of the UK’s best green spaces — thanks to our amazing team & community!

Come visit this award-winning woodland gem 🌿🦉

#GreenFlagAward #HighgateWood

[Hampstead Heath @CityCorpHeath]

🏆 Hampstead Heath has won a Green Flag Award! 🌳💚

We’re proud to be recognised as one of the UK’s best green spaces — thanks to our amazing team, volunteers & community! 👏

Come enjoy this iconic, award-winning space 🌿☀️

#HampsteadHeath #GreenFlagAward

[City of London @cityoflondon]

Last week at Guildhall, we celebrated 50 years of #CITES – the global treaty protecting endangered species.

📷 Jayne Burdess

[Simon Evans @DrSimEvans]

MEDIA STUDIES: How the Times bungled its coverage of the OBR report on climate change & UK govt debt

Yesterday's newspaper reported a major shift: "The OBR now thinks…net-zero will have a far more damaging impact on borrowing…"

In fact, the OBR had said the opposite!
1/6

[Simon Evans @DrSimEvans]

If you want to know what OBR really said on all this, I wrote a brief summary

TL;DR: Since net-zero is much cheaper than thought and unchecked global warming is far more costly than thought, climate action makes even more sense than thought

https://t.co/GsKNfyxaoL
6/6

[William Upton KC @willupton]

Shout out for the complete #bayeux replica in #readingmuseum - but good to see the entente

[Emmanuel Macron @EmmanuelMacron]

We are lending Britain an iconic jewel of our shared history: the Bayeux Tapestry.

This is the first time this national treasure will leave French soil. It marks an unprecedented cultural partnership between our two countries — a powerful symbol of our Entente amicale.

[Jonathan Berk @berkie1]

After a $1.6 billion investment and years of hard work, the Seine River, which was once heavily polluted, is now clean enough for swimming for the first time in over a century. The city has also invested in three public swimming locations.

📍 Paris 🇫🇷