An attack on the first phase of a major residential and commercial development at Brighton Marina has moved to the Court of Appeal.
Last year, Patterson J refused to allow the claim by Robert Powell, whose home overlooks the seafront, to proceed. Now Powell, who says the development is a breach of the Brighton Marina Act 1968, is seeking to have the decision overturned.
Powell challenges the decision of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to grant a “board of trade” consent for phase one of the project, involving an engineered basement, which will house an underground car park and provide a platform for the future residential and commercial development in phase two. The Outer Harbour Development will ultimately include 853 new apartments in a number of tower blocks within the marina.
Powell, a member of the Marine Gate Action Group, also seeks a prohibitory order putting a stop to the works, which began in January 2014, as well as a declaration as to the meaning and effect of the 1968 Act which could have important consequences for the remaining phases of the development.
Last June, Patterson J ruled that the development was authorised by section 5 of the Brighton Marina Act and that the MMO had acted lawfully in issuing consent for the development to proceed last December.
She also rejected the claim on the ground of promptness, saying that the Brighton Marina Company and its lessee of the marina, the West Quay Development Company Partnership, had already spent £16m on the development by that point.
Powell v The Brighton Marina Company Ltd and ors Court of Appeal (Arden, Sullivan and Floyd LJJ) 16 June 2015
