A developer seeking consent to build 48 homes on land in Redruth, Cornwall, has successfully challenged a government decision blocking the scheme.
Collins J has quashed an inspector’s decision refusing planning consent for Kingsley Ventures Ltd to build 48 houses and flats, together with a toddlers’ playground and formal open space, on land on the east side of Coach Lane, Redruth.
The 1.5ha site, which houses a small toilet block, is presently used for storing caravans and fairground equipment during June and July in each year, as well as for regular car boot sales, Guy Fawkes’ Night bonfires, and circuses. It has also been the permanent site of the five-day Whitsun fair for the past 100 years.
The judge ruled that the inspector had made a “clear error of law” in placing weight on the aims of a planning policy document that was still at “an early stage”, and that her decision could not stand. The matter will now be returned to the Secretary of State for reconsideration.
Kingsley Ventures Ltd v Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions Queen’s Bench Division (Collins J) 27 March 2003.
Martin Edwards (instructed by Ralph & Co, of Newquay) appeared for the appellant; Philip Coppel (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) appeared for the respondent.
References: PLS News 31/3/03
