England and Wales Case Law

Wrotham Parish Council v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government & Ors

Wrotham Parish Council v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government & Ors [2026] EWHC 165 (Admin) (30 January 2026)

The High Court rejected a planning judicial review over a Kent truck stop, holding that the inspector correctly applied grey belt policy and the Circular on SRN facilities.

• Interpretation of national planning policy framework
• Green belt and grey belt policy
• Strategic road network facilities
• Judicial review of planning decisions
• Application of government circulars in planning
• Heritage and landscape protection

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Save Greater Manchester Green Belt Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government & Ors

Save Greater Manchester Green Belt Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government & Ors [2025] EWHC 2742 (Admin) (24 October 2025)

The High Court dismissed a statutory review challenge to Greater Manchester’s plan, holding the Inspectors lawfully applied the Green Belt “exceptional circumstances” test.

• Statutory review of development plan documents
• Green belt policy
• Exceptional circumstances test
• Interpretation of national planning policy framework
• Judicial review principles in planning context
• Green-belt

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Dorchester Living Limited v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The High Court dismissed a planning challenge and held that Cherwell’s housing requirement could properly aggregate local need with Oxford’s unmet need under the NPPF.

• Interpretation of national planning policy framework
• Housing land supply calculation
• Development plan policies
• Judicial review of planning decisions
• Planning-law
• Housing-land-supply

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Dorchester Living Ltd v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Dorchester Living Ltd v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities [2024] EWHC 3223 (Admin) (13 December 2024)

Judicial review of a planning permission turned on how Cherwell’s housing requirement should be calculated under the NPPF. The claim was dismissed.

• Interpretation of national planning policy framework
• Housing land supply calculation
• Judicial review of planning decisions
• Aggregation of housing requirements
• Application of 'tilted balance' in planning
• Interpretation of development plan policies

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East Riding of Yorkshire Council v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities & Anor

East Riding of Yorkshire Council v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities & Anor [2021] EWHC 3271 (Admin) (02 December 2021)

The High Court rejected a planning challenge over housing land supply and reasons, upholding the Inspector’s refusal to adopt a hybrid calculation and finding no error in distinguishing earlier appeal decisions.

• Planning permission
• Housing land supply
• Interpretation of national planning policy framework
• Provision of reasons in planning decisions
• Planning-law
• Housing-land-supply

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Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government

The High Court dismissed Sefton MBC’s challenge to a planning inspector’s Green Belt decision, holding that NPPF paragraph 144 does not require separate substantial weight for each harm.

• Green belt policy
• Planning permission
• Interpretation of national planning policy framework
• Enforcement notices
• Traveller sites
• Green-belt-policy

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Paul Newman New Homes Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government & Anor

Paul Newman New Homes Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government & Anor [2019] EWHC 2367 (Admin) (06 September 2019)

The High Court dismissed a planning challenge, holding that paragraph 11d of the 2018 NPPF is read on its own terms and that one relevant saved policy can block the tilted balance.

• Interpretation of national planning policy framework
• Application of 'tilted balance'
• Relevance and up-to-dateness of development plan policies
• Outline planning permission
• Policy gp.35
• Planning-law

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Paul Newman New Homes Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government & Anor

The court dismissed a planning challenge, holding that one saved, up-to-date development plan policy was enough to block the NPPF tilted balance.

• Interpretation of national planning policy framework
• Application of 'tilted balance'
• Development plan policy relevance
• Outline planning permission
• Planning-law
• Nppf

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Monkhill Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities And Local Government

The High Court held that the first part of NPPF paragraph 172 can justify refusal in an AONB and falls within paragraph 11(d)(i). The section 288 claim failed.

• Interpretation of national planning policy framework
• Presumption in favour of sustainable development
• Area of outstanding natural beauty
• Planning appeals
• Development plan policies
• Planning-law

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Tewkesbury Borough Council v Secretary of State for Communities Housing and Local Government & Ors

Tewkesbury Borough Council v Secretary of State for Communities Housing and Local Government & Ors [2019] EWHC 1775 (Admin) (08 July 2019)

The High Court dismissed a judicial review by Tewkesbury Borough Council, holding it should not decide an academic dispute about housing land supply reasoning.

• Five year housing land supply
• Interpretation of national planning policy framework
• Oversupply in housing calculations
• Justiciability of academic claims
• Section 288 town and country planning act 1990
• Judicial-review

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