District defeats High Court challenge to CPO of iconic amusement park site

A district council has fought off a High Court challenge to a compulsory purchase order for the site of a former amusement park.

In August 2012 Thanet District Council received approval from the Communities Secretary for the purchase of the site in Margate where the Dreamland Amusement Park was located.

The local authority, in partnership with the Dreamland Trust, plans to develop the site as a heritage amusement park.

However, the current owners, the Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company, appealed the Secretary of State’s decision. It advanced 13 grounds of challenge originally.

Four of these grounds were later withdrawn, including a challenge to the vires of the council’s approach to the pre-condition contained in s. 226(1A) of The Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (as inserted by s. 99 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004). The latter was “essentially the claimant’s core ground of challenge”, according to His Honour Judge Sycamore.

The grounds of challenge that were continued with included challenges to:

  • the findings of the Inspector on the financial viability of the scheme;
  • the question of the operational viability of the proposals;
  • the Inspector’s findings that it was necessary for the council to acquire all of the lands covered by the order;
  • an asserted material misdirection by the Inspector in relation to the cinema;
  • alleged unfairness in that the Inspector was said to have failed to show an even handed approach;
  • the alleged inadequacy of the Inspector’s report; and
  • an unwarranted and disproportionate interference with the claimants’ rights under Article 1 of the First Protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights.

But in Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company Ltd & Ors v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government & Anor [2013] EWHC 973 His Honour Judge Sycamore dismissed all of the grounds advanced.

The judge said he was “not satisfied that there is any merit in any part of this challenge”.

Thanet said it would now seek to secure title to the land. This will release up to £11m in funding, pave the way for access to the site and allow work to begin.

Sue McGonigal, Thanet District Council’s chief executive, said: “Today’s ruling from the High Court comes as very welcome news. We now have a clear mandate to progress with our plans to deliver a brand new and unique visitor attraction for the South East.

“With overwhelming public support, and the vital funds in place, there has been no doubt about our commitment to see this project through. Getting to this point has certainly been frustrating, especially with the site left vacant and unused for a significant amount of time.”

She added: “Our focus now will be to progress with plans to dramatically regenerate Dreamland and I look forward to seeing the potential benefits this will bring to Margate.”

Thanet was advised by law firm Trowers & Hamlins, from the initial inquiry into the CPO in 2012 and on the appeal of the Communities Secretary’s decision.