Buglife, R (on the application of) v Natural England

Buglife, R (on the application of) v Natural England

Permission for judicial review is refused because the outline planning permission lawfully provides for a multi-stage EIA process, requiring a fresh Environmental Statement and full environmental information at each reserved matters stage, with Medway Council obliged to take such information into account before approving further development. The ES submitted at outline stage was sufficient for the first stage of a staged EIA process, and the law now permits such an approach for multi-phase developments. The grounds advanced by Buglife would only be arguable if the outline ES was the sole EIA for the development, which is not the case here.

Parties
Claimant: Buglife - The Invertebrate Conservation Trust; Defendant: Medway Council; First Interested Party: National Grid Property Holdings Limited; Second Interested Party: Natural England
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
30 March 2011
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review / Renewed Application for Permission to Apply for Judicial Review
Outcome
Permission for judicial review refused
Legal Topics
Environmental Impact Assessment (eia), Outline Planning Permission, Multi Stage EIA, Grampian Conditions, Judicial Review Time Limits, Public Participation in Planning, Protective Costs Order (pco)
Environmental Law Planning Law Administrative Law European Union Law Environmental Impact Assessment (eia) Outline Planning Permission Multi Stage EIA Grampian Conditions +3 more

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Parties

Buglife - The Invertebrate Conservation Trust

Claimant

Medway Council

Defendant

National Grid Property Holdings Limited

First Interested Party

Natural England

Second Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review / Renewed Application for Permission to Apply for Judicial Review

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Environmental Statement (ES) submitted with the outline planning application complied with the EIA Regulations and Directive requirements
  2. 2 Whether essential environmental information could lawfully be deferred to later stages via Grampian-type conditions
  3. 3 Whether the judicial review was brought promptly within the meaning of CPR 54.5 and in light of the Uniplex decision

Ratio Decidendi

Permission for judicial review is refused because the outline planning permission lawfully provides for a multi-stage EIA process, requiring a fresh Environmental Statement and full environmental information at each reserved matters stage, with Medway Council obliged to take such information into account before approving further development. The ES submitted at outline stage was sufficient for the first stage of a staged EIA process, and the law now permits such an approach for multi-phase developments. The grounds advanced by Buglife would only be arguable if the outline ES was the sole EIA for the development, which is not the case here.

Court Disposition

Permission for judicial review refused