The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment in a case involving accusations of unlawful action by Leicester City Council in blocking plans for a massive out-of-town retail and business development at Leicester.
In January 1995 the council granted outline consent for Powergen UK plcs scheme, which included class A1 retail use and class B1 business use and provided for a filling station, car parking, a pub and restaurant and public open spaces. The conditions attached to the consent included a stipulation that approval should be sought for reserved matters within three years.
At the time, the 14.57ha of land on the site of the former Raw Dykes Road power station represented 20% of the derelict land in Leicester and had already been identified by the council as a focus for regeneration.
When Powergen later sought to vary the reserved matters condition, the council refused and revoked their consent for retail development, which was to have entailed the provision of a major supermarket, on the basis of changed attitudes towards out-town-development.
In a bid to keep the scheme fully on track, Powergen challenged that decision, accusing the council of acting unreasonably, taking immaterial matters into account and failing properly to consider material matters. But in October 1999 the High Court ruled that the council had not acted unlawfully.
By that time, Powergen had already demolished the power station, carried out on-site decontamination work and paid £5.7m to the council by way of licence fees in connection with the development.
On appeal, John Taylor QC, counsel for Powergen, argued today that the judge had misconstrued the requirements in the planning consent that governed the point at which the development could begin. He said that the judge was wrong to hold that Powergen had failed to comply with all the conditions of the planning consent.
Safeway Stores plc has been allowed legal representation to argue in support of the councils decision on the basis that its food store in Leicester would be adversely affected by the proposed development.
Powergen UK plc v Leicester City Council and another Court of Appeal (Morritt, Schiemann and Potter LJJ) 30 March 2000
John Taylor QC and Vincent Fraser (instructed by Wragge & Co, of Birmingham) appeared for the applicant; Tobias Davey (instructed by Clifford Chance) appeared for the respondents; Duncan Ouseley QC and Michael Redman, solicitor advocate (instructed by Clifford Chance) appeared for the interested party.
PLS News 30/3/00
