Guildford Borough Council v Secretary of State for Levelling Up Housing and Communities & Anor

Guildford Borough Council v Secretary of State for Levelling Up Housing and Communities & Anor

The inspector impermissibly elided the provisions of P2 relating to extensions and replacements, failing to use the demolished original building as the baseline for proportionality assessment as required by P2(2)(a); this misinterpretation led to an incorrect evaluation of the uplift in floorspace.

Parties
Claimant: Guildford Borough Council; First Defendant: Secretary of State for Levelling Up Housing and Communities; Second Defendant: Christopher Weeks
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
17 March 2023
Procedural Posture
Statutory Review / Judgment
Outcome
decision quashed
Legal Topics
Green Belt Policy, Interpretation of Local Planning Policy, Statutory Review Procedure
Planning Law Administrative Law Green Belt Policy Interpretation of Local Planning Policy Statutory Review Procedure

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Parties

Guildford Borough Council

Claimant

Secretary of State for Levelling Up Housing and Communities

First Defendant

Christopher Weeks

Second Defendant

Procedural Posture

Statutory Review / Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Did the inspector misinterpret policy P2 of the Guildford Local Plan regarding the baseline for measuring proportionality of extensions in the Green Belt?
  2. 2 Should the baseline be the demolished original building or the replacement dwelling for assessing proportionality under P2?

Ratio Decidendi

The inspector impermissibly elided the provisions of P2 relating to extensions and replacements, failing to use the demolished original building as the baseline for proportionality assessment as required by P2(2)(a); this misinterpretation led to an incorrect evaluation of the uplift in floorspace.

Court Disposition

decision quashed

Orders

  • Inspector's decision quashed
  • Appeal to be resubmitted for redetermination