Decisions under delegated authority to grant planning permission require reasons: High Court

The High Court has held that local government officers granting planning permission under delegated authority are required to give reasons for their decisions, Francis Taylor Building has reported.

The decision in Shasha and others v. Westminster CC [2016] EWHC 3283 (Admin) was based on the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014, made under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, the set added.

Francis Taylor Building said: “This is despite the fact that the requirement to give reasons for a grant of planning permission which was at one stage imposed under amendments to the GPDO 1995 from 2003 was consciously repealed in 2013 as part of the red tape challenge and the current Development Management Procedure Order 2015 contains no such requirement.

“The decision will have inevitable implications for decision making by local planning authorities where officers are acting under delegated powers.”

Meyric Lewis of FTB appeared for Westminster, instructed by Shahnaz Zaidi. He will be holding a breakfast briefing on the topic in chambers in the near future.