Royal Borough of Kensington And Chelsea v The Secretary of State for Communities And Local Government [2017] EWHC 1704 (Admin) (13 July 2017)

Royal Borough of Kensington And Chelsea v The Secretary of State for Communities And Local Government [2017] EWHC 1704 (Admin) (13 July 2017)

The inspector made a material mistake of fact in calculating housing land supply by double-counting vacant units returning to use, which led to an erroneous finding of significant oversupply. This mistake played a material part in the inspector's reasoning and decision, rendering the decision unfair and outside the powers of the Act. The court cannot be satisfied that the decision would have been the same absent the error, and thus the decision must be quashed.

Citation
[2017] EWHC 1704 (Admin)
Parties
Claimant: The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; First Defendant: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government; Second Defendant: Aref Lahham
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
13 July 2017
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review Under Section 288 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 / Final Judgment on Application to Quash Planning Inspector's Decision
Outcome
Application allowed; decision quashed
Legal Topics
Mistake of Fact in Administrative Decisions, Judicial Review of Planning Decisions, Housing Land Supply Calculation, Materiality of Error in Planning Decisions
Administrative Law Planning Law Mistake of Fact in Administrative Decisions Judicial Review of Planning Decisions Housing Land Supply Calculation Materiality of Error in Planning Decisions

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Parties

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Claimant

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

First Defendant

Aref Lahham

Second Defendant

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review Under Section 288 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 / Final Judgment on Application to Quash Planning Inspector's Decision

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the planning inspector made a material mistake of fact in calculating housing land supply
  2. 2 Whether the inspector's error played a material part in the decision to allow the appeal against refusal of planning permission

Ratio Decidendi

The inspector made a material mistake of fact in calculating housing land supply by double-counting vacant units returning to use, which led to an erroneous finding of significant oversupply. This mistake played a material part in the inspector's reasoning and decision, rendering the decision unfair and outside the powers of the Act. The court cannot be satisfied that the decision would have been the same absent the error, and thus the decision must be quashed.

Court Disposition

Application allowed; decision quashed

Orders

  • The Secretary of State's decision dated 3 February 2017 is quashed.