Planning inspector awards costs against council over suspension of pre-application service due to resourcing issues

A planning inspector has made a partial award of costs against Mole Valley District Council even though he rejected an appeal against its refusal of an application.

Inspector A Price said the council should pay developer Leatherhead 20 Ltd the costs associated with its failure to provide a pre-application service.

The developer had applied to build homes on land at Ryebrook Business Park, in Leatherhead, and appealed against the council’s failure to issue a decision notice within the prescribed period under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, sections 78, 322 and Schedule 6, and the Local Government Act 1972, section 250(5).

The inspector noted Planning Practice Guidance allows costs awards against a party who has behaved unreasonably and caused unnecessary or wasted expense.

When deciding the appeal, the inspector concluded the council considered the identified harm to conflict with specific development plan policies, and “I do not find that the council has acted unreasonably in this regard”.

Mole Valley had operated a pre-application service but had suspended it for financial reasons. Had it still existed, the council could have raised concerns at an early stage about design, living conditions and affordable housing provision and Leatherhead 20 “would have been well-informed and provided with the opportunity to amend the scheme as necessary”.

The inspector said: “Given that the council has an established pre-application function, which was suspended for a time, and which did not allow the appellant to use it, amounts to unreasonable behaviour. This is my view, irrespective of the council’s communications later in the process.“

This was unreasonable behaviour entitling Leatherhead 20 to be paid costs limited to those incurred relating to the lack of a pre-application service, the inspector concluded.

Mark Smulian