A woman who fought the gentrification of a south London council estate has won a High Court battle against the local authority for its misuse of planning law.
Aysen Dennis, who has lived on the Aylesbury Estate in Southwark for 30 years, had taken a judicial review against Southwark Council and the housing provider Notting Hill Genesis over amendments to the wording of planning permission about the redevelopment of the estate.
The new wording that was pushed through as a “non-material amendment” made it easier to wave through changes that had not been previously agreed with residents without making a new application. This included issues such as making proposed buildings higher.
The judge, Justice Holgate, said he was “in no doubt” that the new wording made a material difference to Southwark Council’s original plan and was therefore unlawful. The judgment was handed down on Wednesday after a hearing in November.
