Hopkins Homes Ltd v Secretary of State for Communities And Local Government & Anor [2015] EWHC 132 (Admin) (30 January 2015)

Hopkins Homes Ltd v Secretary of State for Communities And Local Government & Anor [2015] EWHC 132 (Admin) (30 January 2015)

The Inspector fundamentally misinterpreted paragraph 49 of the NPPF by treating policies SP19, SP27, and SP29 as up to date when, in the absence of a five-year housing supply, they should not have been. This amounted to a misdirection in law, and it cannot be said the Inspector would necessarily have reached the...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2015] EWHC 132 (Admin)
Parties
Applicant: Hopkins Homes Ltd; First Defendant: Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government; Second Defendant: Suffolk Coastal District Council
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
30 January 2015
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review (s.288 Town and Country Planning Act 1990) / High Court Judgment
Outcome
Application allowed; Inspector's decision quashed.
Legal Topics
Interpretation of National Planning Policy Framework (nppf), Adequacy of Reasons in Planning Decisions, Status of Development Plan Policies, Housing Supply Policies, Heritage Asset Assessment
Planning Law Administrative Law Judicial Review Interpretation of National Planning Policy Framework (nppf) Adequacy of Reasons in Planning Decisions Status of Development Plan Policies Housing Supply Policies Heritage Asset Assessment

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Parties

Hopkins Homes Ltd

Applicant

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

First Defendant

Suffolk Coastal District Council

Second Defendant

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review (s.288 Town and Country Planning Act 1990) / High Court Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Inspector misinterpreted paragraph 49 of the NPPF regarding policies for the supply of housing
  2. 2 Whether the Inspector misdirected himself as to the status of the limits boundary to Yoxford
  3. 3 Whether the Inspector misdirected himself as to the status of Policy AP4 regarding heritage assets

Ratio Decidendi

The Inspector fundamentally misinterpreted paragraph 49 of the NPPF by treating policies SP19, SP27, and SP29 as up to date when, in the absence of a five-year housing supply, they should not have been. This amounted to a misdirection in law, and it cannot be said the Inspector would necessarily have reached the same decision absent this error. The Inspector also failed to properly assess the significance of the heritage asset as required by NPPF paragraph 135.

Court Disposition

Application allowed; Inspector's decision quashed.

Orders

  • The decision of the Inspector dated 15 July 2014 is quashed.