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District council sees off High Court challenge to Local Plan

A Planning Court judge has dismissed a developer’s legal challenge to Epping Forest District Council’s decision to approve its Local Plan and submit the document to the Secretary of State Housing, Communities and Local Government for independent examination.

A site owned by the claimant, CK Properties (Theydon Bois), had been allocated for residential development in the draft local plan for consultation in October 2016. However, it was excluded from the draft Local Plan which was approved at an extraordinary council meeting in December 2017.

In CK Properties (Theydon Bois) Ltd, R (On the Application Of) v Epping Forest District Council [2018] EWHC 1649 (Admin) the claimant developer advanced four grounds of challenge:

  1. There had been a failure to comply with adopted Statement of Community Involvement.
  2. There had been a failure to make proposed submission documents available in accordance with regulation 19.
  3. The decision made on 14 December 2017 was based on an incomplete evidential basis.
  4. The decision of 14 December 2017 was procedurally unfair.

However, in the Planning Court Mr Justice Supperstone rejected all four grounds.

He added that if, contrary to his view, the council had acted unlawfully as the claimant alleged, he would not have granted the relief sought, namely an order quashing the decision.

“I consider that it is highly likely that the outcome for the claimant would not have been substantially different if the conduct complained of had not occurred,” the judge said.

Epping Forest said the ruling would pave the way for it to submit the Local Plan to the Secretary of State.

Cllr John Philip, Epping Forest’s Planning Portfolio Holder, said: “The production of the Local Plan is possibly the most difficult thing the council has ever had to do. The issues involved in planning for growth in the district are very sensitive and, inevitably, emotions often run high, but the Court has endorsed the council’s approach having scrutinised the decision-making process.”

Cllr Philip added: “I hope CK Properties will see the sense of the Court’s judgment, and pursue their arguments through the Local Plan Examination process, which has always been the proper place to air their concerns, and spare council tax payers any additional expense by resorting to the legal appeal process.”