Appeal judges reject challenge to permission for major scheme as abuse of process

The Court of Appeal has refused to grant SAVE Britain’s Heritage permission to continue with its challenge to Westminster City Council’s decision to grant planning permission for the Paddington Cube, Landmark Chambers has reported.

The chambers said that the Court had, however, given the conservation group permission to challenge the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government’s decision not to give reasons for not calling in the controversial scheme for his own determination.

In December 2016, Westminster City Council’s Planning Committee granted planning permission for the project, a 19-storey, 54m-office tower proposal, adjacent to the Grade I listed Paddington Station and within the Bayswater Conservation Area.

Landmark said: “The Court held that it would be an abuse of process for SAVE to amount a collateral attack on the council’s decision to grant permission as part of its challenge to the Secretary of State’s decision not to give reasons, as it had done in the High Court. The permission is thus now free from litigation.”

In Save Britain's Heritage, R (on the application of) v Westminster City Council & Anor [2017] EWHC 3059 Mrs Justice Lang in the Planning Court dismissed on all grounds SAVE’s challenge to the decision of the Secretary of State not to call in the development for his own determination.

Christopher Lockhart-Mummery QC and Robert Walton of Landmark Chambers acted for the developers, Great Western Developments Ltd (GWD), instructed by Stephen Ashworth and Michele Vas at Dentons LLP.