McGahan and another v Windsor and Maidenhead Royal Borough Council: Admn 11 Jul 2002

The appellants had a motorbike dealership, which operated under a planning permission requiring them not to sell or display motor-cycles on the forecourt. They were convicted of breaching that permission when customers and staff parked their own motorcycles on the forecourt.
Held: The magistrates had considered that ‘display’ in the permission meant ‘open up to view’ or to ‘exhibit to the eyes’. The appellants argued that something more was required, either an element of deliberate ostentation or of display of cycles for sale. They were correct. The magistrates had failed to look to the intention behind the cycles being so parked. They were not being exhibited for any commercial purpose. Conviction quashed.

Judges:

Mr Justice Harrison

Citations:

Gazette 01-Aug-2002, Times 30-Jul-2002

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Planning

Updated: 05 May 2022; Ref: scu.174697