CA Hopkins applied for planning permission to construct 58 dwellings on a site at Wincanton. The District Council refused planning permission on six grounds, four of which subsequently became inapplicable. Hopkins appealed under section 78 of the 1990 Act, but the Inspector dismissed the appeal. Hopkins was aggrieved because the Inspector relied on two matters (sustainability and character/appearance) which she had not initially identified as main issues.
The High Court quashed the Inspector’s decision on the ground that the Inspector had acted in breach of the rules of natural justice. This court reverses that decision, because both sustainability and character/appearance were live issues on the evidence. The Inspector was not confined by her original stated opinion as to what were the main issues.
Held: In the result, the Secretary of State’s appeal is allowed. The order made by His Honour Judge Denyer QC in relation to Hopkins’ ground 1 is set aside. We remit this case to the judge, so that he can deal with the other grounds of challenge raised by Hopkins.
Jackson, Beatson, Christopher Clarke LJJ
[2014] EWCA Civ 470
Bailii
England and Wales
Planning
Updated: 02 December 2021; Ref: scu.523745