Peter Bourke MRICS

Senior Partner

Property & Environmental Disputes Principal Contact

01722 427 715

“Peter Bourke speaks complex law in plain English. He is also a Chartered Surveyor and understands complex rural matters. An exceptionally strong litigation lawyer!”
Legal 500, 2024

“Peter Bourke is a fantastically skilled litigator – one of the best in the field. His attention to detail is second to none.”
Legal 500, 2021

“...offers sound, practical advice aimed at securing a doable and workable solution to the more intractable disputes in this area.”
Legal 500, 2021

Peter is a partner in our Property & Commercial Litigation team. Peter studied at the Royal Agricultural College and Bristol University, qualifying as a surveyor in 1992 and practiced as a member of the RICS in the Rural Faculty. He was admitted as a solicitor in September 1997, having trained in London before joining Wilsons in 1998. He was closely involved in his family farming business for more than 20 years.

Peter deals predominantly with agricultural rural property issues including freehold disputes and landlord and tenant problems. His freehold work mostly relates to adverse possession and rights of way. The landlord and tenant matters cover commercial, residential and agricultural property. His particular specialist area is agriculture with AHA succession tenancy disputes being a key element of his work. He deals with the issues faced by farmers, landlords and tenants. He advises many farming businesses on partnership problems. He usually finds a pragmatic solution for the benefit of his clients. As a qualified Chartered Surveyor, Peter has a detailed understanding of the problems facing both landlords and tenants.

Recent highlights

Resolving two separate complex farm partnerships without the need for litigation
A number of different cases acting for executors and seeing off claims made against the estate of interests in the deceased's estate.
Resolving a long running farming family dispute.
Acting for a farming tenant in a contractual dispute with the landlord resulting in the purchase of the farm.
Satisfactorily settling at mediation a couple of challenging boundary disputes.

Peter gives regular lectures to RICS and CAAV members and is the current chairman of Agrilaw. In addition, Peter is a member of RICS, the Property Litigation Association and the Agricultural Law Association. He is a former Chairman of the Law Reform Committee that regularly contribute to and coordinates LRC responses to consultations issued by the Law Commission and the Ministry of Justice.