M & M (Land) Ltd v Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government & Anor [2007] EWHC 489 (Admin) (05 February 2007)

M & M (Land) Ltd v Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government & Anor [2007] EWHC 489 (Admin) (05 February 2007)

A certificate of lawful use does not immunise a use from abandonment; the inspector's conclusion that the use as a scrapyard had been abandoned after 1995 was open to him on the evidence and was not perverse.

Citation
[2007] EWHC 489 (Admin)
Parties
Claimant: M & M (Land) Ltd; 1st Defendant: Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government; 2nd Defendant: Hampshire County Council
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
05 February 2007
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review (section 288 Town and Country Planning Act 1990) / High Court Judgment
Outcome
Application dismissed
Legal Topics
Abandonment of Use, Certificate of Lawful Use, Planning Permission, Judicial Review, Costs
Administrative Law Planning Law Abandonment of Use Certificate of Lawful Use Planning Permission Judicial Review Costs

Case Brief

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Parties

M & M (Land) Ltd

Claimant

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

1st Defendant

Hampshire County Council

2nd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review (section 288 Town and Country Planning Act 1990) / High Court Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a certificate of lawful use prevents abandonment of use
  2. 2 Whether the inspector's finding of abandonment was perverse or not open on the evidence

Ratio Decidendi

A certificate of lawful use does not immunise a use from abandonment; the inspector's conclusion that the use as a scrapyard had been abandoned after 1995 was open to him on the evidence and was not perverse.

Court Disposition

Application dismissed

Orders

  • Application under section 288 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 dismissed
  • Order for costs in favour of the Secretary of State, summarily assessed at £7,176