First Secretary of State John Prescott has been told to rethink a decision to grant a 15-year planning permission for a road-rail interchange in Swindon.
A High Court judge has allowed a challenge by Swindon Borough Council following the council’s claim that noise and dust caused by the scheme would spoil a nearby conservation area, and could also pose a health hazard.
Hanson Quarry Products Ltd applied for permission for the interchange, on land adjacent to the main rail line and Hawksworth Trading Estate, Newcombe Drive, in order to use it as a depot for the importation of aggregates by rail and their onward shipment by road.
The council refused permission in October 2001, holding that the plans would neither preserve nor enhance the setting of the nearby Great Western Railway Works Conservation Area. The area includes two listed buildings of historic importance, including the National Monuments and Records Centre run by English Heritage.
On appeal, the inspector found that the proposal would not cause demonstrable harm to the character or appearance of the conservation area or the listed buildings, and maintained that it was unlikely that there would be any adverse effect in terms of noise and dust.
Richards J, however, accepted the council’s argument that the inspector had failed to consider British Standard (BS4142) guidance relating to noise levels, stating: “The inspector’s omission of any reference, whether explicit or implicit, to BS4142 is a real puzzle, especially as she mentions all the other documents advanced by either party as containing relevant guidance. I am driven to the conclusion that she must have fallen into error.”
The matter is to be returned to the Secretary of State for reconsideration.
Swindon Borough Council v First Secretary of State and another Queen’s Bench Division (Richards J) 2 April 2003.
Alice Robinson (instructed by the solicitor to Swindon Borough Council) appeared for the claimants; Jonathan Karas (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) appeared for the First Secretary of State; Gregory Jones (instructed by TLT Solicitors, of Bristol) appeared for the second defendant.
References: PLS News 3/4/03
