The Council sought to challenge proposals by the Commission for re-organisation of its boundaries. The Secretary of State had asked the Commission to see if there was any proposal which might lead to a unified authority but which also met the criteria identified in Breckland. The council said that the consultation should be all in one, and not in stages.
Held: The application failed. Though attractive, the suggestion made was incorrect: ‘it was open to the Committee, in performing its statutory task, to choose to defer consideration of affordability until publication of its draft proposal. In the circumstances that was not irrational, since the Committee did not wish to impose undue burdens on local authorities at an earlier stage, and also needed to collate information from them in the form of the workbooks with relevant financial information’ and ‘whether the public have been consulted in a meaningful and timely manner needs to be assessed against the backdrop of the particular consultation exercise. In my view, like many aspects of our democratic process consultation may be tangled and untidy. It encompasses a multitude of parties with a range of expertise and interest. ‘
‘what must happen is that the Boundary Committee should consider with care whether it would be right to make further alternative proposals for Devon. If it were to decide that that course were appropriate, it would need to comply with the statutory requirements, including that under section 6(4) of consulting on such further proposals. However, the nature of complying with that obligation would be conditioned by what has already occurred. The Boundary Committee could decide, in its discretion, that responses already received were such that a more limited, further consultation was all that was necessary. ‘
Judges:
Cranston J
Citations:
[2009] EWHC 4 (Admin), [2009] WLR(D) 5
Links:
Statutes:
Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act 2003
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Breckland District Council and others v The Boundary Committee and Another Admn 28-Nov-2008
The councils sought to challenge the re-organisation of their boundaries. The proposal could result in their abolition and the introduction of a unitary system of local government in that county, extending to part of Suffolk.
Held: Parliament . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Elections, Local Government
Updated: 14 November 2022; Ref: scu.279865