The Court of Appeal has refused permission for Mount Cook Land Ltd to challenge a High Court ruling that it unreasonably withheld consent from lessee Redevco Properties for proposed alterations at a former C&A store premises in London.
Redevco planned to convert the property, situated at 200-212 Oxford Street, 2 Great Portland Street and 21-26 Market Place, London W1, from a department store, with single retail usage, into a building comprising retail, office and residential uses. Mount Cook objected on the ground, among other things, that, if planning permission for office use of the upper storeys were refused, the upper floors would have to remain vacant until the expiry of a proposed sublease to JJB Sports.
In the High Court, Deputy Judge Paul Morgan QC said: “My essential conclusion is that Mount Cook withheld consent to the proposed alterations in order to put pressure upon Redevco to sell its lease to Mount Cook, rather than for the other reasons and that conduct on behalf of Mount Cook amounted to an unreasonable withholding of consent to the proposed alterations.”
Christopher Pymont QC, counsel for Mount Cook, in seeking permission to appeal the ruling, argued that there was no proper basis upon which the judge could have reached the conclusion that he did on the evidence before him.
However, Chadwick LJ held there was no real prospect of the Court of Appeal differing from the judge on the primary facts, and that the court should not therefore interfere with his finding.
Redevco Properties v Mount Cook Land Ltd Court of Appeal (Chadwick and Mummery LJJ) 20 February 2003.
Christopher Pymont QC (instructed by Stephenson Harwood) appeared for the defendant; the claimant did not appear and was not represented.
References: PLS News 20/02/03
