Two developers have clashed in court over a site which holds substantial prospects...
The claimant, Commercial Estates Group Limited (CEG) and the second interested party, David Wilson Homes (DWH), are rival developers which both want to “take advantage” of the opportunities that would arise out of planning permissions on 360 hectares of land to the North East of Leicester.
The land, which has been referred to as “the SUE”, has been approved by the Council by Cabinet that it could build 4,500 homes and up to 13 hectares of employment land.
DWH applied to the Council in August last year for planning permissions after wanting to develop 150 homes on 8.8 hectares on the land jointly with the third interested party, TPTL. However, in December last year, CEG submitted a hybrid application for planning permission for the whole site. This included permission for mixed use residential development, including 4,500 residential units and 13 hectares of employment land.
It was heard in court that if the application for DWH was to go ahead, it would “frustrate” CEG’s plans and would also mean the Draft Core Strategy would need “significant redrawing” to switch the land from employment to residential development.
The Draft Core Strategy, submitted by the Council, was approved in April 2013 which proposed to deliver 13,000 houses between 2012 and 2028. Under the strategy, the SUE land was earmarked to be able to provide 4,500 homes. The consultation period ended in late July 2013 and it was submitted for examination at the end of that year.
DWH had requested a screening option from the Council before applying for planning application, where the Council gave its opinion that the development was no an EIA development. However, CEG suggested to the Council that the screening opinion should have considered the “environmental impact of DWH’s Scheme”.
The current case involves CEG looking to renew its application for permission to challenge the direction proposed by DWH and another interested party for residential development.
The main issue CEG claims, is that the Secretary of State’s decision was unlawful on the grounds that it failed to take into account the draft Core Strategy. Additionally, it claimed that there was a real risk that the SUE proposal would come forward as part of the Core Strategy.
CEG claimed “vigorously” that “the level [of housing provision in the SUE] will undoubtedly not be less than the figure0s identified in the Draft Core Strategy”. However, the judge stated that the use of the word “undoubtedly” is misplaced, adding that “it is not to be presumed that the Council will simply squeeze more dwellings into the SUE and there is no evidence whatsoever about whether such an approach would be acceptable to the Council or the Secretary of State.”
It was found that the Draft Core Strategy had “stalled and its future progress (if any) was unpredictable,” where attempts to bring CEG’s proposal to light would “face uncertainties” in regards to land control.
The judge found that CEG failed to show an “arguable case” that the Secretary of State “acted unlawfully in excluding consideration of the proposals for the SUE in the Draft Core Strategy and the CEG proposal as set out in its application for planning permission”, adding that its decision was a “classic case of a planning judgement.”
He therefore refused permission.
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