A developer wants to destroy a well-known railway. Lawyers are helping to save it

Buy land, build something on it and sell it. This is a short description of a usual business model used by most developers in Slovakia and across the globe. Even though it seems to be easy, it is affected by dozens of variables that turn the entire business into a path full of traps.

Even the transition from the first point to the second can be complicated, and developers have to turn to law firms for help.

Even for them, it is often challenging to get all the permits and approvals they need to turn a brownfield into a new quarter with hundreds of flats. Examples from Slovakia show that lawyers can sometimes help the developers, but also fight against them.

The biggest players in the Largest Law Firm ranking in the Real Estate category shared the most inspirational and biggest deals they have worked on in the past 12 months.

Fight for a railway

While most law firms usually assist developers, TaylorWessing is fighting one. In their inspirative deal, they are representing the non-profit organisation Čiernohronská železnica, which runs a historic narrow-gauge railway located in the Horehronie region in central Slovakia.

The organisation faces an existential threat. In 2016, a developer bought some land crossed by the railway tracks. The developer prepared their own project, and wants to remove the tracks, which would pose a threat to this more-than-100-year-old construction.

“By utilising our expertise in construction law, we aim to demonstrate that the Čiernohronská železnica railway is a historic structure that was built and is operated in accordance with Slovak law,” said partner Silvia Hlavačková. “We are representing our client in several administrative and court proceedings.”

The project requires a thorough understanding of both administrative and real estate law, including familiarity with relevant historical legislation, she noted.