A judge is being asked to call a halt to the first phase of a major residential and commercial development at Brighton Marina.
Patterson J has reserved her decision in the case, in which Robert Powell, whose home overlooks the seafront, says that the development, which began in January, is a breach of the Brighton Marina Act 1968.
Powell, a member of the Marine Gate Action Group, seeks a declaration that both the first and second phases of the planned development of the outer harbour are ultra vires under the 1968 Act, an order quashing the decision of the Marine Management Organisation to approve the development under the act, and an injunction prohibiting work being carried out.
Harbour authority the Brighton Marina Company and its lessee of the marina, the West Quay Development Company Partnership, claim that £16m has already been spent bringing forward the development, and say that the judge should dismiss the claim on the basis of delay.
The first phase of the project involves an engineered basement, which will house an underground car park and provide a platform for the future residential and commercial development in phase two.
Brighton and Hove City Council initially granted planning permission in 2006, and granted a fresh consent in 2013. Work then commenced on 16 January, and Howell claims this was the appropriate trigger for time to start running for him to bring his claim.
However, the marina companies say that no environmental harm is alleged, and that the only challenge is brought under an alleged construction of the 1968 Act. They say that the claim was not brought promptly, following the MMO’s decision to approve the works last December.
Powell v The Brighton Marina Company Ltd and ors Planning Court ( Patterson J) 17 June 2014