Timothy Charles Harris & Anor. v The Environment Agency & Anor.

Timothy Charles Harris & Anor. v The Environment Agency & Anor.

The claimants are entitled to an effective remedy for the Environment Agency's unlawful conduct. The appropriate remedy is a mandatory order requiring the Agency to formulate and disclose to the claimants, within 8 weeks, a plan detailing the measures it intends to take to comply with Article 6(2) of the Habitats Directive, including indicative timelines and, so far as practicable, the scientific and technical basis for those measures. The court will not require implementation or publication of the plan, nor grant liberty to apply, as these steps are unnecessary for an effective remedy and would improperly involve the court in ongoing supervision.

Parties
Claimant: Mr Timothy Charles Harris; Claimant: Mrs Angelika Harris; Defendant: The Environment Agency; Interested Party: Natural England
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
18 October 2022
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review / Remedy Judgment Following Substantive Judgment
Outcome
Mandatory order granted
Legal Topics
Habitats Directive, Remedies in Judicial Review, Public Authority Duties, Effective Remedy, Water Abstraction, Special Area of Conservation
Environmental Law Administrative Law EU Law Habitats Directive Remedies in Judicial Review Public Authority Duties Effective Remedy Water Abstraction +1 more

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Parties

Mr Timothy Charles Harris

Claimant

Mrs Angelika Harris

Claimant

The Environment Agency

Defendant

Natural England

Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review / Remedy Judgment Following Substantive Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a mandatory order should be made against the Environment Agency to ensure compliance with Article 6(2) of the Habitats Directive
  2. 2 What form an effective remedy should take in light of the Agency's unlawful conduct

Ratio Decidendi

The claimants are entitled to an effective remedy for the Environment Agency's unlawful conduct. The appropriate remedy is a mandatory order requiring the Agency to formulate and disclose to the claimants, within 8 weeks, a plan detailing the measures it intends to take to comply with Article 6(2) of the Habitats Directive, including indicative timelines and, so far as practicable, the scientific and technical basis for those measures. The court will not require implementation or publication of the plan, nor grant liberty to apply, as these steps are unnecessary for an effective remedy and would improperly involve the court in ongoing supervision.

Court Disposition

Mandatory order granted

Orders

  • The Environment Agency must, by 4pm on 7 December 2022, provide to the claimants details of the measures it intends to take to comply with its duties under Article 6(2) of the Habitats Directive in respect of The Broads Special Area of Conservation, including indicative timelines and, so far as practicable, the...