Grafton Group (UK) Plc & Anor v Secretary of State for Transport & Anor

Grafton Group (UK) Plc & Anor v Secretary of State for Transport & Anor

The court held that under s.24 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981, the only remedy available upon a successful challenge to a CPO is to quash the entire compulsory purchase order as made and confirmed; there is no power to quash only the confirmation. The Inspector’s planning judgment regarding the likelihood of an alternative scheme was supported by sufficient evidence, but the process was unfair to the claimants because they were not given a fair opportunity to address the basis on which the CPO was confirmed.

Parties
Claimant/respondent: Grafton Group (UK) PLC; Claimant/respondent: British Dredging Services Ltd; Defendant/first Appellant: Secretary of State for Transport; First Interested Party/second Appellant: Port London Authority; Second Interested Party: James Joseph Horada (on behalf of the Shepherds Bush Market Tenants’ Association); Third Interested Party: Orion Shepherds Bush Market Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
21 June 2016
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review/statutory Challenge (compulsory Purchase Order) / Appeal From High Court (administrative Court) to Court of Appeal
Outcome
Appeal on Ground 2 (evidence) allowed; appeal on Ground 3 (unfairness) dismissed; question of relief to be determined after further submissions.
Legal Topics
Compulsory Purchase Orders, Judicial Review, Statutory Interpretation, Planning Permission, Procedural Fairness
Administrative Law Planning Law Compulsory Acquisition Compulsory Purchase Orders Judicial Review Statutory Interpretation Planning Permission Procedural Fairness

Case Brief

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Parties

Grafton Group (UK) PLC

Claimant/respondent

British Dredging Services Ltd

Claimant/respondent

Secretary of State for Transport

Defendant/first Appellant

Port London Authority

First Interested Party/second Appellant

James Joseph Horada (on behalf of the Shepherds Bush Market Tenants’ Association)

Second Interested Party

Orion Shepherds Bush Market Limited

Third Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review/statutory Challenge (compulsory Purchase Order) / Appeal From High Court (administrative Court) to Court of Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the court can quash only the confirmation of a compulsory purchase order (CPO) or must quash the entire order under s.24 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981
  2. 2 Whether there was legally sufficient evidence to support the confirmation of the CPO on the basis adopted by the Secretary of State
  3. 3 Whether the confirmation of the CPO was unfair to the claimants due to lack of opportunity to address the Inspector’s reasoning

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that under s.24 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981, the only remedy available upon a successful challenge to a CPO is to quash the entire compulsory purchase order as made and confirmed; there is no power to quash only the confirmation. The Inspector’s planning judgment regarding the likelihood of an alternative scheme was supported by sufficient evidence, but the process was unfair to the claimants because they were not given a fair opportunity to address the basis on which the CPO was confirmed.

Court Disposition

Appeal on Ground 2 (evidence) allowed; appeal on Ground 3 (unfairness) dismissed; question of relief to be determined after further submissions.