Morge v Hampshire County Council: SC 19 Jan 2011

The claimants had challenged the allocation of a former railwy line to become a rapid bus service, saying that the Council had failed properly to take account of the Habitats Directive. The Supreme Court was asked as to the extent of doisturbance to an endangered species required to engage the prohibition againsty ‘deliberate disturbance’ under the directive, and secondlly the extent of the obligation imposed by the Regulations.
Held: Account should be taken of the rarity of the species in question and the impact of the proposed disturbance on the local population. Disturbance includes anything likely to impair an animal’s ability to survive, breed, rear its young, hibernate or migrate, and that which is likely to affect the local distribution or abundance of the species. On the second issue, the correct approach to regulation 3(4) is that permission should be granted save only in cases where the Planning Committee conclude that the proposed development would both offend article 12(1) and be unlikely to be
licensed pursuant to the powers to derogate from the requirements of article 12(1).

Judges:

Lord Walker, Lady Hale, Lord Brown, Lord Mance, Lord Kerr

Citations:

[2011] UKSC 2, UKSC 2010/0120

Links:

Bailii, SC, SC Summ, Bailii Summary

Statutes:

Habitat’s Directive 92/43/EEC 12(1)(b), Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc) Regulations 1994 3(4)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Leave to appealMorge v Hampshire County Council CA 28-Jan-2010
. .
At first InstanceMorge v Hampshire County Council Admn 17-Nov-2009
. .
Appeal fromMorge, Regina (on The Application of) v Hampshire County Council CA 10-Jun-2010
Over time, an abandoned railway line had become a habitat for local wildlife. The claimant now objected to the grant of planning permission for a light railway.
Held: The claimant’s appeal failed. For an act to fall within 12(1)(b) of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Planning, Environment, Animals

Updated: 31 August 2022; Ref: scu.428046