Planning permission — Area of land with permanently occupied chalets — Designated as conservation area — Application by freeholders for permission to redevelop land — Whether chalets constituted “buildings” — Planning permission refused — Application for judicial review of designation as conservation area refused — Whether procedural irregularity — Court of Appeal dismissing appeal against refusal
The developers, E Ltd, owned the freehold of land known as Holts Field, Merton, near Swansea. On May 1 1990 a subcommittee of the council’s planning policy committee designated the land as a conservation area and made a direction under article 4 of the Town and Country Planning General Development Order 1988 (SI 1988 No 1813) that development in classes A to D of the order was not to be carried out without the prior grant of planning permission by the council. On July 20 1990 the planning policy committee endorsed or confirmed the designation and direction. There were 27 chalets on the land which were occupied full time as homes by their owners as licencees of the freeholders. E Ltd applied for outline planning permission for its redevelopment but that was refused by the council on the grounds that it would be a substantial intrusion on a semi-rural site and result in the destruction of a conservation area. E Ltd applied unsuccessfully for judicial review of the refusal seeking to quash the designation and direction: see [1992] EGCS 72. E Ltd appealed. It challenged, inter alia, the decision of May 1 on the grounds that procedural requirements had not been complied with.
Held The appeal was dismissed.
1. Section 100B of the Local Government Act 1972 provided for access to the agenda and connected reports of the general meeting of the subcommittee. Under section 100B(4) the agenda had to be open for at least three clear days before the meeting. Three clear days referred to days other than the date of publication and the day of the meeting. It also excluded Saturdays and Sundays. On the facts of this case the requirements of section 100B(4) had not been satisfied. Consequently the decision of May 1 was irregular and of no effect in law.
2. However, the decision of the planning policy committee on July 20 was effective for the purpose of the designation of a conservation area. The matter had been considered in the light of new material put before the committee and submissions made by the appellant’s solicitor. The committee had a wide discretion to reach their own conclusion and it was open to them to refuse to endorse the decision of the subcommittee, but they had not done so.
3. Though some of the chalets seemed to be little more than sheds, the council was entitled to consider the land as a site with 27 permanently occupied residential houses. The chalets were buildings within the definition in section 336 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 which defined “building” as including any structure or erection.
James Thom (instructed by Holt Jones, of Swansea) appeared for the developers; Clive Newberry (instructed by the solicitor to Swansea City Council) appeared for the council.
