The Court of Appeal has ruled against a proposed 39-dwelling development by Calderstones Park in Liverpool, but said that a miniature railway on the site can be relocated.
The case is part of a complicated and controversial planning battle between the council, which has been backing the development proposed by house builder Redrow, and local groups opposed to the plans.
Liverpool Council gave Redrow planning permission to develop the council-owned land in January 2018.
The five-hectare site, in an area of green space, was occupied by a city council depot, a miniature railway, stabling for horses ridden by people with disabilities, and a facility for disabled children known as “Calder Kids”.
A second proposal on behalf of Merseyside Live Steam and Model Engineers to relocate the miniature railway had been granted the year before.
However, community group Liverpool Open and Green Spaces Community Interest Company, set up to “preserve; enhance and support the green and/or open spaces… of South Liverpool”, objected to both proposals and won a court battle quashing permission last year.
The council, however, appealed to the Court of Appeal. And in a ruling made public today, the Court of Appeal ruled that the miniature railway could be moved, but the housing development couldn’t be built.
Specifically the court found that, while the council did not misapply its own policies for developing Liverpool’s “green wedge”, the planning officer who recommended the proposal didn’t give enough wait to objections relating to listed buildings.
In fact, according to the ruling, the officer didn’t tell the council’s planning committee about the “strong conservation objections” raised by the Urban Design and Heritage Conservation team to the construction of three houses in the setting of listed building Beechley House.
“This was an objection provided in response to the formal consultation of a team of professional officers employed by the city council for their expertise in the conservation of heritage assets, including listed buildings and their settings,” the ruling said.
“Omitting to take into account the response of the Urban Design and Heritage Conservation team was not only to ignore their objection. It was also to disregard national policy.”
The result is that the railway can be moved, but the order quashing Redrow’s planning permission stays in place.
Even if the council had won on all its points, the development probably wouldn’t have taken place.
Redrow has dropped its development proposals, and according to the ruling, Liverpool’s mayor has stated that the scene is “dead” and will not go ahead.
Even so, the council brought the appeal to test whether its approach to development on the Green Wedge is viable.
R. (on the application of Liverpool Open and Green Spaces Community Interest Company) v Liverpool City Council v interested parties (1) Redrow Homes Ltd. (2) Arthur Brooks (on behalf of the Merseyside Live Steam and Model Engineers)
Court of Appeal (Rafferty LJ, Lindblom LJ, Newey LJ) 9 July 2020
Mr Paul Tucker Q.C. and Ms Constanze Bell (instructed by Liverpool City Council Legal Services) for the Appellant
Mr Ned Westaway and Mr Charles Streeten (instructed by E. Rex Makin & Co Solicitors) for the Respondent
The Interested Parties did not appear and were not represented.
