High Court judge refuses permission challenge to Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead Local Plan
The High Court has refused permission for a challenge to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) over its Local Plan.
The legal challenge from Maidenhead Great Park campaign group was refused permission at a renewal hearing in the High Court by Judge Sir Ross Cranston, as the claim was served ‘out of time’.
The group are campaigning to protect the 132 acres of green belt park land of Maidenhead Golf Course. They believe that the publicly owned land should be protected from development.
In February 2022, the campaign group said on its fundraising page it had raised more than £11,000 for legal and ecological advice over development on the publicly owned parkland.
Three grounds challenging the Borough Local Plan (BLP) were raised at the renewal hearing, including the flood risk to residents at Strande Park in Cookham, the loss of sporting facilities at Maidenhead Golf Course and the failure of RBWM to consider the plan at Cabinet before it went to full Council.
Following the Judge’s decision to refuse an extension of time on the BLP legal challenge, the group said on their fundraising site: “We are incredibly disappointed with the outcome of yesterday’s court hearing. We are now reflecting on the legal implications and other avenues to explore.
“We will not give up challenging our council’s environmentally damaging Borough Local Plan, which will have profoundly negative consequences for the health of our community for many decades to come.”
The group are planning a fourth demonstration outside Maidenhead Town Hall, where their petition asking for improved air pollution monitoring will be heard.
A Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council spokesperson said: “The Borough Local Plan was adopted at Full Council in February 2022, after being shaped through a rigorous examination process. There was then a legal six-week period in which to challenge adoption, however the claimant’s then legal representative failed to correctly serve their claim on the council in this window.
“In July 2022, a High Court judge refused the claimant’s request for an extension of time; this position has been confirmed by a different High Court judge this week at a renewal hearing. At the renewal hearing the High Court also considered the claimant’s substantive grounds for planning statutory review and confirmed that the legal merits of the claim were not arguable. The council has cooperated fully throughout this legal process and has remained confident that due process was followed in making the plan.”
Lottie Winson
