Appeal — Historic building — Planning permission granted for potato store — Whether effect on listed building considered — Whether guidance followed — Whether delay by applicant — Judicial review granted — Appellants advised not to appeal — Question of costs — Appeal dismissed
The respondent is the owner of Bollitree Castle, Weston-under-Penyard, Ross-on-Wye, an 18th-century mock gothic building with a 17th-century core. It is a listed building. In May 1988 the appellant local planning authority granted planning permission for a potato store on a site on the adjoining farm. The respondent’s application for judicial review of that decision was granted by McCowan J on May 18 1989 (see [1989] 3 PLR 81). McCowan J issued certiorari to quash the decision to grant planning permission, having accepted that the provisions of section 28(1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 had not been complied with in terms of proper publicity, nor had the guidance in Circular 8/87 been followed as to the proper consideration to be given to the setting of a listed building. The appellant local planning authority had been advised to withdraw their appeal against that decision on the ground that their appeal had no merit, but they continued with it as the question of costs stood in the way. They contended that the learned judge misdirected himself as to the guidance that bound the appellants or that he was wrong to quash the planning permission having regard to the delay in pursuing the application, the store having been built meanwhile.
Held The appeal was dismissed with indemnity costs to the respondent.
The appellants had one possible point, concerning the pressure to grant planning permission to the possible detriment of the public following a complaint of maladministration and the fact that the respondent could not be expected to pay the expenses if permission were refused, a matter not considered by McCowan J. Their appeal was otherwise void of merit. There was no fault in the careful and thorough judgment of McCowan J.
Barry Payton (instructed by the solicitor to the South Herefordshire District Council) appeared for the appellants; and Ian Albutt (instructed by Burges Salmon, of Bristol) appeared for the respondent.
