Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has had its planning permission to develop a new store in Sidcup quashed in favour of a compulsory purchase order that will enable a rival Safeway store to be constructed.
The Secretary of State had approved both Sainsbury’s planning application and a compulsory purchase order for land partially overlapping the same site. The compulsory purchase order was sought by Bexley London Borough Council to enable a development by Safeway.
Giving a judgment that had not been expected until after Easter, Harrison J yesterday quashed the decision on Sainsbury’s planning application and rejected that company’s challenge to the compulsory purchase order.
The judge said that he considered the Secretary of State had failed to give adequate and proper reasons for supporting Sainsbury’s scheme in favour of the Safeway proposal. “Reasons should have been given by the Secretary of State for disagreeing with his inspectors conclusion;” he said.
He continued: “The only reason given was that any grant of planning permission creates uncertainty. That involves a failure to address the specific issue in this case, and the council have been prejudiced by that failure.”
The decision to approve Sainsbury’s application for planning permission will now have to be reconsidered by the Secretary of State in light of the judges findings.
Bexley London Borough Council v Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions and another; Sainsburys Supermarkets Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions and another Queen’s Bench Division (Harrison J) 11 April 2001.
Gregory Stone QC and James Strachan (instructed by the solicitor to the Bexley London Borough Council) appeared on behalf of the council; Christopher Lockhart-Mummery QC and Daniel Kolinsky (instructed by Denton Wilde Sapte) appeared on behalf of Sainsburys Supermarkets Ltd; Timothy Mould (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) appeared on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions; Richard Humphreys (instructed by Clifford Chance) appeared on behalf of Safeway.
PLS News 12/4/01
