Category: environmental protection

Grayling’s proposals for environmental and planning judicial review – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 10th, 2014 in Administrative Court, bills, consultations, costs, courts, environmental protection, judicial review, news, planning by tracey

‘At first sight, proposals full of sound and fury, and signifying not a great deal for planning and environmental challenges. There are some slippery costs changes which we need to look at, but some of the potentially more concerning proposals do not fully apply to this area, as I shall explain. There are also some perfectly sensible proposals about harmonising planning challenges which lawyers have been advocating for years.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 9th February 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Regina (Buckinghamshire County Council and others) v Secretary of State for Transport; Regina ( HS2 Action Alliance Ltd) v Same; Regina (Heathrow Hub Ltd and another) v Same – WLR Daily

Posted January 29th, 2014 in appeals, bills, consent, EC law, environmental protection, judicial review, law reports, local government, news, planning, railways, Supreme Court, transport by sally

Regina (Buckinghamshire County Council and others) v Secretary of State for Transport; Regina ( HS2 Action Alliance Ltd)vSame; Regina (Heathrow Hub Ltd and another) v Same [2014] UKSC 3; [2014] WLR (D) 28

‘The Government’s paper High Speed Rail: Investing in Britain’s Future—Decisions and Next Steps (2012) (Cm 8247) (“the DNS”), in which it had set out its proposed strategy for the promotion, construction and operation of a new high speed rail network, was not a plan or programme which set the framework for future development consent by the decision-maker (ie Parliament) and thus did not come within the scope of the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive (Parliament and Council Directive 2001/42/EC) (“the SEA Directive”).’

WLR Daily, 22nd January 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Law could be changed to allow fracking below houses without owners’ permission – The Independent

Posted January 27th, 2014 in compensation, consent, energy, environmental protection, fracking, news, trespass by sally

‘Ministers are reportedly reviewing laws that would allow fracking to be carried out underneath houses without the permission of the owners.’

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The Independent, 26th January 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Mark Elliot: Reflections on the HS2 case: a hierarchy of domestic constitutional norms and the qualified primacy of EU law – UK Constitutional Law Group

Posted January 24th, 2014 in bills, consultations, EC law, environmental protection, local government, news, railways, Supreme Court by sally

‘Earlier this week, the UK Supreme Court gave judgment in R (HS2 Action Alliance Ltd) v Secretary of State for Transport [2014] UKSC 3. A good overview of the issues at stake in the case can be found in the Court’s press summary, as well as in a post by David Hart on the UK Human Rights Blog. This post is concerned only with one aspect of the decision, and with some very interesting dicta concerning not only the relationship between UK and EU law, but the nature of the UK’s constitutional order itself.’

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UK Constitutional Law Group, 23rd January 2014

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

R (on the application of HS2 Action Alliance Limited) (Appellant) v The Secretary of State for Transport and another (Respondents); R (on the application of Heathrow Hub Limited and another) (Appellants) v The Secretary of State for Transport and another (Respondents); R (on the application of Buckinghamshire County Council and others) (Appellants) v The Secretary of State for Transport (Respondent) – Supreme Court

Posted January 23rd, 2014 in appeals, bills, consultations, EC law, environmental protection, law reports, local government, railways, Supreme Court by sally

R (on the application of HS2 Action Alliance Limited) (Appellant) v The Secretary of State for Transport and another (Respondents) UKSC 2013/0172; R (on the application of Heathrow Hub Limited and another) (Appellants) v The Secretary of State for Transport and another (Respondents) UKSC 2013/0173; R (on the application of Buckinghamshire County Council and others) (Appellants) v The Secretary of State for Transport (Respondent) UKSC 2013/0187

Supreme Court, 22nd January 2014

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

Supreme Court rejects HS2 legal bid – BBC News

Posted January 22nd, 2014 in bills, consultations, EC law, environmental protection, news, railways by sally

‘The Supreme Court has rejected a legal bid by objectors of the HS2 national high-speed rail link to force further scrutiny of the government’s plans.’

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BBC News, 22nd January 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Court of Appeal issues key NPPF ruling in cases where no local plan yet – Local Government Lawyer

Posted December 16th, 2013 in appeals, costs, environmental protection, housing, local government, news, planning by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has clarified the operation of a key part of the National Planning Policy Framework in situations where a local authority has yet to produce a local plan.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 13th December 2013

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The Supreme Court on “prohibitively expensive” costs: Aarhus again – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted December 11th, 2013 in appeals, construction industry, costs, EC law, environmental protection, legal aid, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘This is the last gasp in the saga on whether Mrs Pallikaropoulos should bear £25,000 of the costs of her unsuccessful 2008 appeal to the House of Lords. And the answer, after intervening trips to the Supreme Court in 2010 and to the CJEU in 2013, is a finding by the Supreme Court that she should bear those costs.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 11th December 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

R (on the application of Edwards and another (Appellant) v Environment Agency and others (Respondents) – Supreme Court

Posted December 11th, 2013 in appeals, construction industry, consultations, costs, EC law, environmental protection, legal aid, news, Supreme Court by sally

R (on the application of Edwards and another (Appellant) v Environment Agency and others (Respondents) [2013] UKSC 78 | UKSC 2012/0030 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 11th December 2013

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

Housebuilders can win permission direct from ministers if councils are too slow – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 13th, 2013 in environmental protection, housing, local government, news, planning by tracey

“Builders will be able to bypass councils and appeal directly to ministers to push through controversial housing schemes, ministers have said. Currently, major developments are usually decided by votes in a committee of councillors. However under new powers ministers can step in if the local authorities repeatedly drag their feet over decisions.”

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Daily Telegraph, 13th November 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Elizabeth House judicial review granted – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 11th, 2013 in environmental protection, judicial review, local government, London, news, planning by michael

“A High Court judge yesterday granted permission to an application by Westminster City Council and English Heritage for a judicial review of the decision by the Secretary of State (SoS) not to call in proposals for a £800 million redevelopment of Elizabeth House near London’s Waterloo Station.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th November 2013

Source: www.OUT-LAW.com

Liz Fisher: The Proposal for a New Specialist Planning Chamber and the Framing of Administrative Law – UK Constitutional Law Group

Posted November 1st, 2013 in courts, environmental protection, judicial review, news, planning, tribunals by sally

“One of proposals in the Ministry of Justice’s paper on Judicial Review: Proposals for Further Reform is the creation of a new specialist planning chamber as part of the Upper Tribunal. While planning tends to be thought of as a niche area of public law (and a technically dense one at that) the way in which the paper frames discussion should give public lawyers pause for thought. This is particularly when planning judicial reviews have often been cited by government representatives as examples of why reform is needed to judicial review. The Further Reforms paper is no exception – the only two ‘case studies’ (albeit no case names) given in the paper are of judicial review of planning decisions (p 5 and 6).”

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UK Constitutional Law Group, 1st November 2013

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Wind farms, birds, and that pesky thing called the rule of law – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 29th, 2013 in appeals, EC law, energy, environmental protection, human rights, inquiries, judicial review, news, rule of law, Scotland by sally

“The current storms brought down a turbine in Teignmouth: see here for good pics of this and other mayhem. And the rule of law recently brought down a massive wind farm proposed for Shetland. The Scottish Ministers had waved aside a request for a public inquiry, and ended up drafting reasons which ignored the obligations in the Wild Birds Directive in respect of this bird – the whimbrel. Lady Clark quashed the consent on this ground, and also decided that the wind farmer could not apply for the consent anyway because it had not got the requisite licence which she concluded was a pre-condition for such an application. ”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 28th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Needs, wants and principles – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 28th, 2013 in Administrative Court, environmental protection, local government, news, planning, public interest by sally

“The High Court recently offered a useful starter pack in both planning and administrative law.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 28th October 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Modernising wildlife law – Law Commission

Posted October 16th, 2013 in animals, bills, birds, EC law, environmental protection, Law Commission, news, penalties by sally

“The Law Commission has today [15 October] set out its proposed principles for a new regulatory regime for wildlife.”

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Law Commission, 15th October 2013

Source: www.lawcommission.justice.gov.uk

Aarhus, A-G Kokott’s opinion, and the PCO reciprocal cap – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 16th, 2013 in attorney general, costs, EC law, environmental protection, fees, judicial review, news, protective costs orders by sally

“Forgive me for returning to this case, but it raises all sorts of questions. On the face of it, it concerns 2 specific environmental directives, but it has implications for costs generally in environmental cases.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 15th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

First council-promoted Planning Act 2008 scheme survives judicial review – Local Government Lawyer

Posted October 7th, 2013 in consultations, environmental protection, judicial review, local government, news, planning, roads by sally

“A High Court judge has dismissed a judicial review challenge to the first scheme to be promoted by a local authority under the infrastructure planning and consenting regime contained in the Planning Act 2008.”

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th October 2013

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Aarhus, the A-G, and why the rules on interim remedies need to change – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted September 30th, 2013 in attorney general, costs, cross-claims, damages, EC law, environmental protection, injunctions, judicial review, news by sally

“I did an initial post here summarising this opinion from the A-G to the CJEU saying that the UK was in breach of two EU Directives about environmental assessment and pollution control – the breaches concerned our system for litigation costs. It struck me that there was a lot in the opinion, and after some re-reads, I continue to think so. So I will deal in this post with one aspect, namely the finding that the UK is in breach, in requiring an undertaking as to damages by the claimant to back up the claimant’s interim injunction – in the jargon, a cross-undertaking.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 27th September 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Judge quashes “exclusive” golf course decision- and why we need judicial review – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted September 25th, 2013 in appeals, environmental protection, judicial review, local government, news, planning, public interest, sport by sally

“This is a successful judicial review of the grant of planning permission to a proposed new golf club in leafy Surrey – where one central issue was whether, in planning policy terms, there was a ‘need’ for the club. The local planning officers had advised the council against the proposal, but the members voted in favour of it (just), hence this challenge. It succeeded on grounds including perversity, which is pretty rare, especially in the planning context, but, when one looks at the judgment, you can readily see why the judge concluded as he did. ”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 24th September 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Regina (Cherkley Campaign Ltd) v Mole Valley District Council – WLR Daily

Posted September 2nd, 2013 in environmental protection, interpretation, judicial review, law reports, local government, planning, public interest by sally

Regina (Cherkley Campaign Ltd) v Mole Valley District Council [2013] EWHC 2582 (Admin); [2013] WLR (D) 340

“A direction given by the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph 1(3) of Schedule 8 to the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 saving specified policies had the effect of also preserving supporting text including the reasoned justification for each policy and descriptive or explanatory material.”

WLR Daily, 22nd August 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk