Gloucester council has lost its Appeal Court battle against a High Court decision last November that quashed consent for Arrowcroft’s retail and residential scheme in the citys Blackfriars district.
Last years High Court decision followed challenges by British Telecom and Bloomsbury Land Investment, both of whom objected to compulsory purchase orders on their properties following the decision to grant planning consent.
Arrowcroft, which was appointed as the Councils development partner in 1995, had proposed a mixed-use scheme including retail, offices, housing, a multi-storey car park and multiplex cinema.
In the High Court the judge accepted arguments by BT and Bloomsbury that the council should have required an environmental assessment statement on the scheme and that it had erred in law in concluding that the development would not be likely to have significant effect on the environment.
The court rejected arguments by John Pugh-Smith, counsel for Gloucester, who sought permission to appeal the High Court ruling on the basis that the application for judicial review of the grant of planning permission had been brought too late.
EGi News 25/03/02
