A compulsory purchase order intended to bring an historic London wharf back into action is under challenge at the High Court.
Site owners Grafton Group and British Dredging Services are attacking the transport secretary’s decision last year to confirm the CPO covering Orchard Wharf, on the River Thames opposite the o2 Arena.
Though long unused, Orchard Wharf in Tower Hamlets, east London, has been safeguarded by the Greater London Authority since 1997. The Port of London Authority seeks through the CPO to buy the wharf and ultimately put it to use, in a move it says will support increased use of the Thames for cargo transport and boost London’s economic growth.
However, Peter Village QC, representing the landowners, has told Ouseley J at the High Court that, while it was a – if not the – key justification for confirming the CPO, the alleged need for additional wharf capacity had not been made out.
“There was in fact no need for more wharf capacity,” he said, arguing alternatively that the transport secretary failed to give proper and adequate reasons for his conclusion on this issue.
In addition, he claimed that the transport secretary fell into error in treating the question of whether there is a compelling case in the public interest for confirming the CPO as a matter of “planning judgment”, arguing that the matter was plainly broader than that as a CPO involves depriving a landowner of their property.
He said that, while planning issues can be relevant, they are not overriding or determinative, and a misunderstanding of this led the transport secretary and his inspector into error.
The transport secretary and the Port of London Authority maintain that the decision was properly made. The hearing is now expected to stretch into a third day next week, after which Ouseley J is expected to reserve judgment.
Grafton Group (UK) plc and anr v Secretary of State for Transport Planning Court (Ouseley J) 26 February 2015
