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These cases are from the lawindexpro database. They are now being transferred to the swarb.co.uk website in a better form. As a case is published there, an entry here will link to it. The swarb.co.uk site includes many later cases.  














Environment - From: 2001 To: 2001

This page lists 29 cases, and was prepared on 27 May 2018.

 
Regina v Cornwall County Council ex p Hardy [2001] 2001 Env LR 473
2001
Admn
Harrison J
Planning, Environment
The council granted planning permission although its planning committee had decided that further surveys should be carried out to ensure that bats would not be adversely affected by the proposed development. The question was the adequacy of information provided pursuant to Schedule 3 (where an EIA had been required), rather than the initial decision whether an EIA was required at all. The planning committee had decided that further surveys should be carried out to ensure that bats would not be adversely affected by the development. Held: Since those surveys might reveal significant adverse effects on bats, it was not open to the committee to conclude that there were no significant nature conservation issues until they had the results of the surveys. The surveys might have revealed significant adverse effects on the bats or their resting places. Without the results of the surveys, they were not in a position to know whether they had the full environmental information required by Regulation 3 before granting planning permission. It was not permissible to defer to the reserved matters stage consideration of the environmental impacts and mitigation measures.
1 Citers


 
Martin John Davies v Hillier Nurseries Limited Times, 16 February 2001; [2001] EWHC Admin 58; [2001] EWHC Admin 587
29 Jan 2001
Admn
The Lord Chief Justice Of England And Wales, And Mr Justice Newman
Environment, Agriculture, European
If, at the time a plant was placed in a pot to be grown, it was also intended that the pot should be used when the plant was sold, then the pot was deemed to be packaging and was subject to the rules with regard to packaging recycling obligations. The pots into which the plants were finally transplanted were expected to be discarded by customers. The primary purpose was not for the growth of the plants, but was used as 'packaging conceived so as to constitute a sales unit' The original purpose was only one element of all the circumstances which the court should look at.
Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997 No. 648) - Council Directive 94/62/EC on Packaging and Packaging Waste
[ Bailii ]
 
Spain v Council [2001] EUECJ C-36/98; C-36/98; [2001] ECR I-779
30 Jan 2001
ECJ

European, Environment
ECJ Legal basis - Environment - Council decision approving the Convention on cooperation for the protection and sustainable use of the river Danube - Article 130s(1) and (2) of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 175(1) and (2) EC) - Concept of 'management of water resources.
1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council v Secretary of State for Environment Transport and the Regions and Another Gazette, 15 March 2001; Gazette, 29 March 2001
15 Mar 2001
QBD

Planning, Environment
A larch tree overhung a garden, but was protected by a tree preservation order. The inspector declined authority to lop it on the basis of its value to the amenity. The Secretary overruled this but his decision was, in turn, set aside by the court on the basis that it was first too indistinct to allow the parties to know just what was allowed, and also that in denying the damage to the amenity value, he had failed to give sufficient reasons for going against the inspector.
Town and Country Planning Act 1990 288


 
 Castle Cement v Environment Agency; Admn 22-Mar-2001 - [2001] EWHC Admin 224

 
 British Waterways Board v Severn Trent Water Ltd; CA 23-Mar-2001 - Times, 23 March 2001; Gazette, 29 March 2001; Gazette, 20 April 2001; [2001] 3 WLR 613; [2002] Ch 25; [2001] EWCA Civ 276; [2002] EHLR 1; [2001] 3 All ER 673; [2001] Env LR 45; [2001] NPC 53
 
Regina v Environment Agency, ex parte Castle Cement Ltd Gazette, 05 April 2001
5 Apr 2001
QBD

Environment
The applicant burned Cemfuel in its Cement Works. The Agency changed the licence conditions to declare that Cemfuel was a hazardous waste. The issue was whether the recovery of Cemfuel from waste created a product no longer waste, and that process was complete by the time it came to be used by them. It was held that Cemfuel was an remained a hazardous waste, until 'recovered by being used up entirely as fuel. A partial use did not result in it ceasing to be waste.
Council Directive 94/67/EC on the incineration of hazardous waste - Environmental Protection Act 1990

 
Regina v Environmental Agency, ex parte Marchiori and Another Gazette, 12 April 2001
12 Apr 2001
QBD

European, Environment, Administrative
The Agency had granted licences for the disposal of nuclear waste from military sites by a private company. Such disposals were not governed by the Euratom Treaty, which dealt with civil wastes only. The matter was generated in the course of the Trident nuclear weapons programme, the legality of which under international law, which the Environment Agency had properly considered to be outwith its jurisdiction. The later confirmation by the Food Standards Agency of the licence remedied the defect as regards the need for its approval at the time.
Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (Nov 1990) - Environment Act 1995 16(4A)(b)

 
Regina (Marchiori and Another) v Environmental Agency Times, 01 May 2001
1 May 2001
QBD

European, Environment, Administrative
The Agency had granted licences for the disposal of nuclear waste from military sites by a private company. Such disposals were not governed by the Euratom Treaty, which dealt with civil wastes only. The matter was generated in the course of the Trident nuclear weapons programme, the legality of which under international law, which the Environment Agency had properly considered to be outwith its jurisdiction. The later confirmation by the Food Standards Agency of the licence remedied the defect as regards the need for its approval at the time.
Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (Nov 1990) - Environment Act 1995 16(4A)(b)

 
Commission v Netherlands C-152/98 C-152/98; [2001] EUECJ C-152/98
10 May 2001
ECJ

European, Environment
ECJ Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations - Directive 76/464/EEC - Water pollution - Failure to transpose.
Directive 76/464/EEC
[ Bailii ]
 
Regina (Fernback and Others) v Harrow London Borough Council Times, 15 May 2001; Gazette, 07 June 2001; [2002] Env LR 10
15 May 2001
QBD
Richards J
Planning, Environment
The local planning authority adopted a screening opinion that proposed development was not development requiring an EIA under the 1999 Regulations. About a year later it granted planning permission for the proposed development. Local residents challenged the legality of the planning permission. It was open to a planning authority to reconsider the need for an environmental impact assessment and if necessary to change its mind, but it had no duty to reconsider that original opinion when it came to determine the planning application. A screening decision by the Secretary of State was determinative of the need for an assessment, but a positive view of the planning authority was so in the absence a decision otherwise by the Secretary. The authority therefore retained a discretion but no duty, to review the need for an assessment.
Town and Country Planning (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1988 (1988 No 1199)
1 Cites

1 Citers



 
 Regina (On the Application of Lowther) v Durham County Council and Another; CA 24-May-2001 - Gazette, 07 June 2001; Times, 22 June 2001; [2001] EWCA Civ 781; [2002] 1 P&CR 283

 
 Attorney-General's Reference (No 5 of 2000); CACD 6-Jun-2001 - Times, 06 June 2001; [2001] EWCA Crim 1077
 
Commission v Suede (Judgment) C-368/00; [2001] EUECJ C-368/00
14 Jun 2001
ECJ

European, Environment
Europa Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations - Quality of bathing water - Inadequate implementation of Directive 76/160/EEC
Directive 76/160/EEC
[ Bailii ]
 
Berkeley v Secretary of State for Environment Transport and the Regions London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames Gazette, 26 July 2001; Times, 19 October 2001; [2001] EWCA Civ 1012
29 Jun 2001
CA
Lord Justice Schiemann, Lord Justice Stuart-Smith, Lord Justice Kay
Planning, Environment, Planning
There is no obligation to refer every application to the Secretary of State where an objector raised a plausible argument that an environmental impact assessment might be needed. In this case the application did not fall within Schedule I, and nor was it in a sensitive area, and nor was it over 0.5 hectares, and it was not open to the inspector to conclude that it might require an assessment. Regulation 9(2) did not require a reference whenever a plausible argument was raised that an assessment might be required. The 1999 Regulations did comply with the appropriate European Directives and jurisprudence.
courtcommentary.com Desiderata in the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 for separating major impact applications ("EIA applications") from those giving rise only to a lesser impact
Town and Country Planning Act 1990 288 - Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999 No 293) 9(2)
1 Cites

1 Citers

[ Bailii ]

 
 Taylor and Sons (Farms) v Secretary of State for Environment Transport and the Regions and Three Rivers District Council; CA 31-Jul-2001 - [2001] EWCA Civ 1254; Gazette, 04 October 2001; Times, 16 October 2001; [2002] PLCR 11
 
Commission v Ireland [2001] EUECJ C-67/99; C-67/99
11 Sep 2001
ECJ

European, Environment
Europa Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations - Directive 92/43/EEC - Conservation of natural habitats - Conservation of wild fauna and flora - Article 4(1) - List of sites - Site information.
[ Bailii ]
 
Commission v France [2001] EUECJ C-220/99; C-220/99
11 Sep 2001
ECJ

European, Environment
Europa Failure by a Member State to fulfill its obligations - Directive 92/43/EEC - Conservation of natural habitats - Conservation of wild fauna and flora - Article 4(1) - List of sites - Site information.
[ Bailii ]
 
Commission v Spain [2001] EUECJ C-417/99; C-417/99
13 Sep 2001
ECJ

European, Environment
Europa Failure by a State to comply with its obligations - Directive 96/62/EC - Ambient air quality assessment and management - Failure to designate the competent authorities and bodies responsible for implementing the directive.
[ Bailii ]
 
City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council v Yorkshire Water Services Ltd Times, 15 November 2001; [2001] EWHC Admin 687
19 Sep 2001
CA
Lord Justice Brooke, Mr Justice Newman
Nuisance, Environment, Utilities
The Council issued a nuisance notice in respect of sewage being deposited on a property within its area. The statutory nuisance was accepted. The issue was as to whether the sewage system was a public sewer. The judge had found that the original system had, in 1937, served only one property, and therefore had remained a private sewer. Under the 1987 Act, if it was a drain, it could not be a sewer. The authority asserted that the drain served also a roadway, which was, itself, capable of constituting a property served by the drain, and that it became a sewer on the general statutory adoption in 1937. The question was answered by asking the question of why the drain had been constructed. It had not been constructed for the roadway, but for the house, the roadway was not, in this case, a premise for the purpose of the Act, and the drain was not a public sewer.
Environmental Protection Act 1990 - Water Industry Act 1991 - Public Health Act 1875
1 Cites

[ Bailii ]

 
 Hatton and Others v United Kingdom; ECHR 2-Oct-2001 - 36022/97; Times, 08 October 2001; [2001] ECHR 561; [2003] ECHR 338; (2003) 37 EHRR 611; [2001] ECHR 565; [2000] ECHR 709
 
Tridon, Federation departementale des chasseurs de l'Isere, and Federation Rhone-Alpes de protection de la nature (Frapna), section Isere C-510/99; [2001] EUECJ C-510/99; [2001] ECR I-7777; [2002] All ER (EC) 534; ECLI:EU:C:2001:559; [2002] Env LR D 5; [2003] 1 CMLR 2
23 Oct 2001
ECJ

Animals, Environment
ECJ Wild fauna and flora - Endangered species - Application in the Community of the Washington Convention
[ Bailii ]
 
Commission v Italy C-127/99 ECLI:EU:C:2001:597; [2001] EUECJ C-127/99; [2001] ECR I-8305
8 Nov 2001
ECJ

Environment
Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations - Inadequate implementation of Directive 91/676/EEC - Protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources
[ Bailii ]
 
Commission v United Kingdom C-427/00 [2001] ECR I-8535; [2002] Env LR D 6; [2001] EUECJ C-427/00; ECLI:EU:C:2001:606
13 Nov 2001
ECJ

Environment
ECJ Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations - Quality of bathing water - Inadequate compliance with Directive 76/160/EEC
[ Bailii ]
 
Regina (Friends of the Earth Ltd and Greenpeace Ltd) v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2001] EWHC Admin 914
15 Nov 2001
Admn
Mr Justice Collins
Environment, European
BNFL sought permission to operate a plant manufacturing MOX fuel from nuclear waste. The applicants sought judicial review of the respondent's permission. The Act provided no way of challenging a plant before its construction. When permission was sought, it was on the basis that the construction costs, of £300 million, having already been incurred no longer formed part of the economic equation against which it was to be assessed. There was no formal requirement for such an assessment but case law suggested it was required to test the economic benefit of the development. The claimants argued that the assessment should include the capital costs. The assessment should not be arbitrarily affected by the time at which it was carried out. The Minister argued that the law gave him a wide discretion as to how it should be assessed. Held: Although the discretion was not as wide as had been argued, the Secretary of State had adopted a classic economic approach to sunk costs. That was within his discretion. Review refused.
Radioactive Substances Act 1993 - Euratom Treaty Directive 80/836 Articles 6(a) and 13 - Directive 96/29
[ Bailii ]
 
Regina v Yorkshire Water Services Ltd Times, 12 December 2001
16 Nov 2001
CACD
Lord Justice Mance and Mr Justice Rougier
Environment, Criminal Sentencing
The defendant company was sentenced for supplying water which was below standard. The fine imposed was calculated according to the number of consumers affected. Held: When considering the level of fine, the court should look to, the degree of culpability; damage caused; the previous record; the need for balance between censure and any counter-productive effect, in the light of efforts to remedy the situation; the acts of the water authority after the events in question. The number of complainants should not be used as a multiplier.
Water Industry Act 1991 70(1)
1 Cites



 
 In re All Saints, Hough on the Hill; ConC 28-Nov-2001 - Gazette, 01 February 2002; Times, 01 February 2002
 
Friends of the Earth Ltd and Another v Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and Others Times, 25 February 2002; [2001] EWCA Civ 1847
7 Dec 2001
CA
Lord Justice Simon Brown, Lord Justice Waller, And, Lord Justice Dyson
Environment, European, Utilities
When assessing the economic and social benefits of a new radiation-producing process, the Secretary of State was not obliged to include in the costs, the capital already invested in the plant. BNFL proposed to bring on-line a mixed oxide fuel (MOX) plant. The balances was to be weighed at the time of the decision, at which point costs already incurred were no longer applicable. There is a standard economic principle of ignoring sunk costs which would never be recovered.
Council Directive 96/29/Euratom Art 6.1
[ Bailii ]
 
Furness and Others v Thames Water Services Ltd, Environment Agency [2001] EWHC Admin 1058
17 Dec 2001
Admn
Turner J
Environment, Utilities
The Environment Agency had granted a licence for the incineration of waste, and this was challenged by the claimants, on the basis of the respondents having failed to comply with the procedures required by the Act and Regulations. The regulations included transitional procedures. They said the Agency had no standing under the Act to issue a licence. Held: The transitional provisions were not easy, but had been navigated correctly by the Environment Agency. The Agency had considered the report governing these matters which did not in any event have the force of law. The application failed.
Environmental Protection Act 1990 7 7(4) - Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 9 - Council Directive 96/61/EC Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control
[ Bailii ]
 
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