Legal challenge claims Secretary of State for Transport failed to consider full emissions data before approving road development
A Norfolk campaigner has launched a judicial review challenge of the Secretary of State for Transport's decision to approve road building works that he says will "devastate" the surrounding countryside.
The claimant, Andrew Boswell, argues that the decision to grant development consent to National Highways for a package of road enhancements to the A47 between Blofield and North Burlingham was based on the wrong set of data regarding the project's environmental impact.
The A47 between Blofield and North Burlingham (A47BNB) is the first of a set of plans for new highways and roads-led development, according to the claimant.
The claimant added: "When one scheme gets planning permission, it becomes more likely that others will follow. If the A47BNB goes ahead, it will be followed by the A47 dualling from North Tuddenham to Easton (A47NTE), the enlargement of Thickthorn junction (A47THI), and the Norwich Western Link (NWL), an entirely new road cutting through open landscapes with ancient woodlands and unique ecology.
"These roads could be built by 2025, destroying communities, climate and nature, and flooding traffic into the area."
The claimant contends that the Secretary of State approved the works on the basis that the National Highways had made and assessed an 'inherently cumulative' estimate of carbon emissions in the project's environmental statement when National Highways had done no such thing.
The statement of facts and grounds lodged on his behalf says the Secretary of State erred in law when he accepted that the emissions figures discharged the requirements of the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017.
According to the document, the figures represented the emissions arising only from the individual project under consideration and did not cumulate emissions from those other existing and/or approved developments with emissions from the scheme itself.
One of the requirements of the 2017 Regulations is that the applicant must provide an environmental statement including, inter alia, relevant information on the cumulative impacts of the project and other existing and/or approved projects on climate change.
"It simply cannot be the case that that requirement is discharged by presenting for assessment purposes an estimate of emissions arising only from the individual project under consideration," the claimant argues.
Richard Buxton Solicitors, who are representing the claimant, said a hearing could take place by November this year if the claim is categorised as a significant Planning Court claim.
The Department for Transport said it could not comment on the ongoing legal proceedings. However, a Department for Transport spokesperson said: "We have made ambitious pledges to achieve net zero transport and better connect communities. This includes plans to decarbonise road vehicles, boost public transport and active travel and cut carbon from road construction, maintenance and operations."
Adam Carey
