Burridge v Breckland District Council

Burridge v Breckland District Council

The two planning applications constituted a single project and should have been considered together for EIA screening; the council failed to adopt a required screening opinion, breaching its obligations under the Directive and Regulations; however, the absence of a formal written screening opinion did not vitiate the planning permissions in this case, as the planning officer had substantively considered the environmental impacts and would have reached the same conclusion.

Parties
Appellant: Barbara Burridge; Respondent: Breckland District Council; Interested Party: Greenshoots Energy Ltd
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
19 April 2013
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review / Appeal From High Court Judgment
Outcome
Appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Environmental Impact Assessment, Planning Permission, Directive 85/337/eec, Town & Country Planning (environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999, Screening Opinion, Cumulative Effects, Project Splitting
Environmental Law Planning Law Administrative Law Environmental Impact Assessment Planning Permission Directive 85/337/eec Town & Country Planning (environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999 Screening Opinion +2 more

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Parties

Barbara Burridge

Appellant

Breckland District Council

Respondent

Greenshoots Energy Ltd

Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review / Appeal From High Court Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether two functionally interdependent planning applications should be treated as a single project for EIA screening purposes
  2. 2 Whether the council failed to adopt a required screening opinion under the 1999 Regulations
  3. 3 Whether the area of works for the pipeline crossed the threshold for EIA development

Ratio Decidendi

The two planning applications constituted a single project and should have been considered together for EIA screening; the council failed to adopt a required screening opinion, breaching its obligations under the Directive and Regulations; however, the absence of a formal written screening opinion did not vitiate the planning permissions in this case, as the planning officer had substantively considered the environmental impacts and would have reached the same conclusion.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed