D B Schenker Rail (UK) Ltd & Anor v Leeds City Council

Mr Reuben Taylor (instructed by Walton & Co) for the Claimants Mr John Hobson QC (instructed by Leeds City Council) for the Defendant Hearing dates: 20 and 21 August 2013 ____________________

The relevant national Planning policies are found in the NPPF. For ease of reference, in this Judgment I shall refer to Paragraphs of the NPPF simply by NPPF followed by the relevant paragraph number, for example NPPF 22. The parties agree that the following are the relevant policies for the purposes of these proceedings:

i) Planning policies should avoid the long term protection of sites allocated for employment use where there is no reasonable prospect of a site being used for that purpose. Land allocations should be regularly reviewed. Where there is no reasonable prospect of a site being used for the allocated employment use, applications for alternative uses of land or buildings should be treated on their merits having regard to market signals and the relative need for different land uses to support sustainable local communities. NPPF 22 (B2, Tab 4, page 495)

ii) Transport policies have an important role to play in facilitating sustainable development�the transport system needs to be balanced in favour of sustainable transport modes, giving people a real choice about how they travel. NPPF 29 (B2, Tab 4, page 497)

iii) Local planning authorities � should develop strategies for the provision of viable transport infrastructure necessary to support sustainable development, including large scale facilities. NPPF 31 (B2, Tab 4, page 497)