Sandy Park Farm Partnership v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government & Ors

By this application made under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 [“the 1990 Act”] the Claimant seeks an order to quash the decision of an inspector appointed by the First Defendant dated 30 January 2025 on a planning appeal made by the Second Defendant under section 78 of the 1990 Act. The Second Defendant had appealed to the First Defendant against the Third Defendant’s failure, acting as local planning authority, to determine an application for planning permission within the requisite period.

By his decision letter dated 30 January 2025 [“the DL”], the inspector allowed the Second Defendant’s planning appeal and granted outline planning permission subject to 30 conditions for the development [“the planning permission”]. In granting the planning permission, the inspector took account of a number of planning obligations contained in a deed of agreement dated 18 December 2024 which had been made under section 106 of the 1990 Act, the parties to which were the owners of the appeal site, the Second Defendant as developer, the Third Defendant and Devon County Council.

On 31 July 2023 the Third Defendant had granted planning consent on a previous application by the Second Defendant for essentially the same development as that now comprised in the planning permission. On 2 February 2024 this court granted an application for judicial review of the Third Defendant’s decision and quashed that earlier grant of planning permission; see R (Pratt) v Exeter City Council [2024] EWHC 185 (Admin) [“Pratt”].

Both the Second and Third Defendants attended and participated in the local inquiry held by the inspector on 11 December 2024. The Third Defendant’s case as local planning authority was that the development should be granted planning permission. The Claimant did not attend the local inquiry, but its planning consultants did submit written representations on its behalf to the inspector opposing the Second Defendant’s planning appeal and objecting to the development.

The focus of the present claim is upon two matters: firstly, the access arrangements for the development which have been authorised by the planning permission; and secondly, the impact of the development on protected species of bat which roost in buildings on the appeal site whose demolition is authorised by the planning permission.