Judge rules plan need not be professionally drawn in gypsy site case

A plan in support of an application need not be professionally drawn, a judge has ruled in dismissing a legal challenge to the grant of planning permission for expansion of a Gypsy site.

Soole J said in R (Marden PC) v Herefordshire Council that the fact that a map was drawn by the applicant did not mean that it was not ‘drawn to an identified scale’ as required.

This was among four grounds on which Marden Parish Council had sought to challenge Herefordshire’s award of planning permission to Harry Smith - an interested party in the case - for two additional mobile homes, two touring caravans and the construction of a day room and hardstanding on 0.4 hectares of agricultural land near Bodenham.

The judge said: “I do not accept that the plan submitted by the applicant failed to satisfy the requirement of Article 7(2) that it be ‘drawn to an identified scale’.

“The scale of 1:500 is marked on the plan and there is no evidence to show that it is not drawn to that scale. I do not accept that it matters that the plan is not a professionally drawn document; and accept that it is commonplace for plans in respect of small family Gypsy sites to be in such a format.”

No5 Chambers, from which barristers acted for both Marden and Herefordshire, said: “This [ruling] will be of importance, not only in respect of Gypsy sites, but also in respect of modest developments that need planning permission and are often accompanied by amateurish plans. 

“The plans should bear the scale and show north, but so long as they are sufficient for the purpose of determining the application, they can be amateurish.”

The judge dismissed the other three grounds cited.

Mark Smulian