Outline planning permission authorises a development, often subject to reserved matters. Reserved matters can include the siting, design or external appearance of the building, its means of access, and landscaping. The two processes are, to some extent, related, in that the outline planning permission cannot be implemented until the reserved matters are approved, and the planning authority cannot refuse a reserved matters application on the ground that it would not otherwise have authorised the development. Planning legislation, however, clearly distinguishes between them, as was illustrated in the recent case of Castlebay Ltd v Asquith Properties Ltd [2005] PLSCS 224.
The question before the court was whether the time limitation on an option to purchase land had been extended by an application for approval of reserved matters pursuant to the grant of outline planning permission. Generally, a decision in respect of a planning application does not encompass an application for approval of reserved matters. The court found that this was the correct construction of the definition in the option agreement, finding that the “decision” for the purpose of triggering the time element of the option agreement had been given when the outline planning application had been approved.
An agreement of this type would have been intended to strike a balance between the parties’ competing interests; those of the respondent in being able to dispose of its land effectively, and those of the appellant in keeping the option open until confident that all aspects of the development, such as the reserved matters and approval of conditions, were satisfactory. The disadvantage to the landowner in such a situation would be to lose control of its land for what might be a lengthy period of time. Had any such wider meaning been intended, then it would have been specified in the agreement; the importance of careful drafting in such a situation was clearly paramount.
Gill Castorina is an associate at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker (Europe) LLP
Outline planning permission authorises a development, often subject to reserved matters. Reserved matters can include the siting, design or external appearance of the building, its means of access, and landscaping. The two processes are, to some extent, related, in that the outline planning permission cannot be implemented until the reserved matters are approved, and the planning authority cannot refuse a reserved matters application on the ground that it would not otherwise have authorised the development. Planning legislation, however, clearly distinguishes between them, as was illustrated in the recent case of Castlebay Ltd v Asquith Properties Ltd [2005] PLSCS 224.
The question before the court was whether the time limitation on an option to purchase land had been extended by an application for approval of reserved matters pursuant to the grant of outline planning permission. Generally, a decision in respect of a planning application does not encompass an application for approval of reserved matters. The court found that this was the correct construction of the definition in the option agreement, finding that the “decision” for the purpose of triggering the time element of the option agreement had been given when the outline planning application had been approved.
An agreement of this type would have been intended to strike a balance between the parties’ competing interests; those of the respondent in being able to dispose of its land effectively, and those of the appellant in keeping the option open until confident that all aspects of the development, such as the reserved matters and approval of conditions, were satisfactory. The disadvantage to the landowner in such a situation would be to lose control of its land for what might be a lengthy period of time. Had any such wider meaning been intended, then it would have been specified in the agreement; the importance of careful drafting in such a situation was clearly paramount.
Gill Castorina is an associate at
