Appeal — Inspector allowing appeal — Decision of inspector in 1982 not followed — Material consideration — Whether inspector should have given reasons for differing from earlier decision — Appeal by local planning authority allowed
By a decision letter dated June 5 1990 the first respondent, the Secretary of State for the Environment, by his inspector, allowed an appeal by the second respondents, Mr and Mrs Clover, against a decision of the applicant council to refuse planning permission for the erection of a dwellinghouse on land adjoining the Coach House, Notton Lodge, Notton, Chippenham, Wiltshire. The site is surrounded by historic buildings and previously, in 1982, an inspector hearing an appeal into an earlier decision to refuse planning permission for the erection of a house on the same site had disallowed the appeal.
The council applied to quash the decision on the ground, inter alia, that the inspector failed to consider the decision of the inspector of February 4 1982 dismissing the earlier appeal in respect of an application for a dwellinghouse on the same site.
Held The appeal was allowed and the first respondent’s decision was quashed.
The inspector should have considered the earlier decision dated February 4 1982; he had not given any reason or any adequate reason for differing from that earlier decision. The physical aspect of the site, surrounded by historic buildings, remained the same. It would not have been enough for the inspector to say he disagreed with the earlier decision; he should have given his reason for differing.
Timothy Straker (instructed by Sharpe Pritchard) appeared for the appellant council; and John Laws (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) appeared for the first respondent, the Secretary of State for the Environment; the second respondents, Mr and Mrs Clover, did not appear and were not represented.
