Claimant seeks to take London incinerator judicial review to Court of Appeal

A claimant who this month lost a judicial review challenge to the grant of planning permission for an incinerator in London is seeking to take the case to the Court of Appeal.

An application for permission to appeal was filed this week on behalf of Shasha Khan over the grant by Sutton Council for the controversial energy-from-waste incinerator at Beddington Fields. The site is Metropolitan Open Land.

In the High Court Mrs Justice Patterson rejected all four grounds advanced by the claimant’s lawyers.

The grounds of challenge to be advanced at the Court of Appeal relate to the judge’s approach to the waste policies governing the use of the Beddington site and the assessment of whether very special circumstances exist to justify the harm caused by the proposed development.

Khan is being advised on the appeal by Richard Buxton Solicitors. His original lawyers, Deighton Pierce Glynn, were unable to take on the appeal work because of a lack of capacity.

Shasha Khan said: “I met with residents, conservationists and the Beddington Farmlands Bird Group on Tuesday (25 Nov). Those present encouraged me to fight on and apply directly to the Court of Appeal. It was something I was actually quite keen to do.

“Sadly, Sue Willman of solicitors Deighton Pierce Glynn is unable to represent me further as the deadlines for submission are very tight. However, they pointed me in the direction Richard Buxton solicitors and I am very pleased to say they are representing me going forward.”

Willman said: “I am delighted that Richard Buxton solicitors, which has a long proud record of securing environmental justice has taken over the appeal for Mr Khan. Sadly I was unable to represent him in the strict timescale for appealing to the Court of Appeal due to a lack of capacity.

“This case proves that there is no level playing field for access to justice in environmental cases, even where the outcome is as important as this case is for the welfare of the local community.”

Adrienne Copithorne, partner at Richard Buxton, said: “We are very pleased to be taking Mr Khan’s case forward to an appeal. It has been a difficult journey to get to this stage but the issues at stake warrant the continued efforts. We admire Mr Khan’s tenacity and that of his supporters.”