Malvern Hills District Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government & Anor [2015] EWHC 2244 (Admin) (23 July 2015)

Malvern Hills District Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government & Anor [2015] EWHC 2244 (Admin) (23 July 2015)

The inspector materially erred in law by failing to give adequate reasons for her finding that the proposed development complied with Local Plan Policies DS1, DS12 and DS14, which were still material considerations despite being out-of-date. This failure undermined the lawfulness of the decision and required it to be quashed.

Citation
[2015] EWHC 2244 (Admin)
Parties
Claimant: Malvern Hills District Council; First Defendant: Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government; Second Defendant: Nick Jones
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
23 July 2015
Procedural Posture
Section 288 Application Under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 / Judgment on Application to Quash Planning Inspector's Decision
Outcome
Application granted; inspector's decision quashed and matter remitted for redetermination.
Legal Topics
Planning Permission, Development Plan, National Planning Policy Framework, Adequacy of Reasons, Material Considerations, Housing Land Supply
Administrative Law Planning Law Judicial Review Planning Permission Development Plan National Planning Policy Framework Adequacy of Reasons Material Considerations +1 more

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Parties

Malvern Hills District Council

Claimant

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

First Defendant

Nick Jones

Second Defendant

Procedural Posture

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

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the inspector erred in determining that the development complied with Local Plan Policies DS1, DS12 and DS14
  2. 2 Whether the inspector failed to give adequate reasons for her finding of compliance with those policies
  3. 3 Whether the inspector failed to have regard to paragraph 55 of the National Planning Policy Framework

Ratio Decidendi

The inspector materially erred in law by failing to give adequate reasons for her finding that the proposed development complied with Local Plan Policies DS1, DS12 and DS14, which were still material considerations despite being out-of-date. This failure undermined the lawfulness of the decision and required it to be quashed.

Court Disposition

Application granted; inspector's decision quashed and matter remitted for redetermination.

Orders

  • The Secretary of State's decision dated 17 February 2015 under section 78 appeal reference APP/J1860/A/14/222378 is quashed.
  • The appeal is remitted to the Secretary of State for redetermination.