The High Court has ruled that Sevenoaks District Council failed in its duty to co-operate with neighbouring councils when it put together its local plan, even though it did run meetings and none of the neighbouring councils complained.
The case comes as a result of a review of the local plan by a government-appointed planning inspector, who found in December that the council hadn’t properly “discharged the duty to co-operate” and said that unless the plan was withdrawn she would “produce a report concluding that the plan was not legally compliant.”
Sevenoaks appealed her findings to the High Court and there was a hearing in September. In a ruling handed down today, High Court judge Mr Justice Dove ruled that the planning inspector was correct.
All the local councils – Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, and Tonbridge and Malling – agree that there had been regular meetings to discuss the plan.
However, “the duty to co-operate is not simply a duty to have a dialogue or discussion,” Dove J said in his ruling.
Although the councils were generally in contact, the inspector found (and the judge agreed) that Sevenoaks didn’t properly speak to them about the unmet housing need in its area.
According to court documents, Sevenoaks got detailed information about the level of unmet housing need in September 2018, but there wasn’t a meeting about the issue with the other councils until March 2019, just seven weeks before the plan was submitted for examination.
The inspector found that in the March meeting Sevenoaks didn’t ask the neighbouring councils if they would help with the unmet need.
At this stage, the council should have “undertaken constructive engagement” from neighbours over the issue, the inspector found.
In its defence, Sevenoaks “stressed its belief that whenever called upon to do so, neighbouring authorities would have refused to provide assistance,” the judge said in his ruling.
However, he added: “I am not satisfied that this provides any basis for concluding that the inspector’s conclusions were irrational.
“I am satisfied that there is no substance in any of the grounds upon which this claim is advanced and the claimant’s case must be dismissed,” he ruled.
The council can now seek a future appeal, withdraw the plan, or have it ruled non compliant.
Sevenoaks District Council v Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government
Planning Court (Dove J) 13 November 2020
Ms Saira Kabir Sheikh QC and Charles Merrett (instructed by Sharpe Pritchard) for the Claimant Richard Moules (instructed by GLD) for the Defendant
