Three of the country’s most senior judges have quashed legal moves to block Parcelforce’s development of a 17 ha site at Coventry Airport.
Lords Justices Nourse, Pill and Mummery have upheld a High Court refusal to overturn a decision by Environment Secretary John Prescott.
Prescott had decided not to call for an environmental impact assessment of the scheme under the Town and Country Planning (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1988.
Parcelforce plans to develop two sorting and handling buildingson a site to the south east of the airport. Proposals for the scheme include parking areas, ancillary facilities, as well as the re-location of existing facilities on the other side of the airport.
Part of the land is allocated as a business park, another section lies within Coventry Airpark, and part comprises green belt lying inside the airport boundary.
A local resident challenged the plans, claiming the Environment Secretary had wrongly failed to call for an environmental impact assessment and had failed to give adequate reasons for not calling for such an assessment.
However, his challenge was rejected by Mr Justice Jowitt in the High Court on 23 March this year and now the Appeal Court have upheld that decision.
Lord Justice Pill, in dismissing an appeal against it, said the court was satisfied the Environment Secretary had been entitled to act as he did and had given adequate reasons.
He said the 1988 Regulations gave the Secretary of State the discretion to decide whether such an assessment was required. The court considered there was no arguable case and that there had been no breach of the Regulations or of European law.
EGi News (Property Law) 12/05/98
