Neighbouring authorities in High Court dispute over weight limit on bridge

Surrey County Council has lost a High Court battle with neighbouring Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead over a weight limit imposed on a bridge.

Chobham Road, part of the B383, connects Sunningdale and Chobham with its north in Windsor & Maidenhead and south in Surrey.

Windsor & Maidenhead imposed a 7.5 tonnes restriction on a 200 metres stretch where the road crosses a railway on a bridge with bends at each end.

In August 2014 planning permission was granted for a mixed development, including 100,000 square metres of commercial space, on a site in Surrey close to the boundary.

One of the two proposed routes for the resulting construction traffic used the relevant section of the B383.

Windsor & Maidenhead had imposed the restriction despite objections from the county council and Surrey Police, who argued that it would force commercial vehicles in excess of 18 tonnes onto local roads in Surrey.

Windsor & Maidenhead noted in a consultation response: “The road narrows so as to prevent two HGVs from passing in opposing directions without the risk of colliding with roadside obstacles or oncoming vehicles.”

Robin Purchas QC, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, dismissed all Surrey’s arguments.

He said Surrey had not demonstrated that its neighbour failed to consult and that even if some technical breach had occurred Surrey had not been prejudiced “because its views were fully expressed and taken into account as part of the decision-making process, which would therefore have remained unaffected”.

The judge also dismissed the argument that technical evidence was lacking, noting that nothing suggested Windsor & Maidenhead had acted irrationally and “indeed it is difficult to see what further technical evidence would have materially added to the quality of that decision”.

He rejected Surrey’s claim that Windsor & Maidenhead had failed to consider other routes and dismissed the argument that it had failed to provide an adequate statement of reasons as being “wholly unpersuaded that that statement was inadequate in any particular”.

Surrey was told to pay Windsor & Maidenhead’s costs of £10,687.79.

Windsor & Maidenhead’s cabinet member for highways and transport Phill Bicknell said: “I am glad to see the High Court has found that our decision was taken properly. We introduced this weight limit after listening to our residents’ concerns and looking for the best possible solution.

“It is a shame that this matter had to be brought before the courts but I hope we can work together in the future to ensure that matters arising close to our borough’s boundaries can be addressed amicably.”

Mark Smulian