Planning appeal dismissed by inspector — Appellant had no reasonable prospects of obtaining rights of access — Whether inspector should have considered Grampian conditions — Appeal by Secretary of State allowed
By a letter dated March 2 1989 the Secretary of State for Wales, by his inspector, dismissed an appeal by the respondent, Mr R T Jones, against a decision of the Ogwr Borough Council to refuse outline planning permission for the erection of a dwelling on land at Ystrad Waun, Pencoed, Nr Bridgend, Glamorgan. Although the inspector considered that the erection of the dwelling might have been permitted, he dismissed the appeal because he was not satisfied that there were reasonable prospects of the respondent obtaining consent for the necessary vehicular access over common land not owned by the respondent, as the owner had refused consent. The inspector considered imposing a condition that development should not commence until vehicular access over the common land was obtained, but decided, having referred to the guidance in Circular 1/85, that no satisfactory condition could be imposed which would not take away the substance of a planning permission.
His Honour Judge Marder QC, sitting as a judge of the Queen’s Bench Division, allowed an appeal by the respondent under section 245 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 (September 13 1989) deciding that the inspector was wrong in not considering the imposition of a condition as sanctioned by the House of Lords in Grampian Regional Council v City of Aberdeen District Council (1983) 47 P & CR 633. The Secretary of State appealed that decision.
Held The appeal was allowed.
Circular 1/85 correctly sets out the law at para 34 and a Grampian condition should only be imposed where there are at least reasonable prospects of the action in question being performed. The inspector had concluded there were no reasonable prospects of the respondent obtaining rights of access over the common land; that was a proper application of the test to be applied and his decision should be upheld.
Duncan Ouseley (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) appeared for the appellant; and Crispin Masterman (instructed by Randalls, of Bridgend) appeared for the first respondent, Mr R T Jones. The second respondents, Ogwr Borough Council, did not appear and were not represented.
