Protesters opposing the £700m Birmingham Northern Relief Road return to court in London this afternoon, claiming that consent for the road plan was unlawful.
The Alliance against the Birmingham Northern Relief Road took Environment Secretary John Prescott and Midlands Expressway (MEL) to court last year. However, they failed in their attempt to quash orders allowing the proposed 27-mile, privately-owned toll road.
They will argue that last year’s decision was wrong. The judge had said that he thought Prescott had adopted a “perfectly lawful policy” in granting consent.
But the alliance – a coalition of residents, environmentalists and local councils – claim that Prescott had acted illegally, because he had allowed himself to be influenced by immaterial factors in reaching his decision.
Those factors, they say, included costs that would have to be paid by the government if the concession agreement with MEL were cancelled.
Additionally, they claim that Mr Prescott had failed to use his powers to regulate the toll that MEL can charge.
EGi News 23/02/99
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