Local Government weekly highlights—22 May 2025
This week's edition of Local Government weekly highlights includes coverage of the Supreme Court judgment in Darwall v Dartmoor National Park Authority, confirming that section 10(1) of Dartmoor Commons Act confers a public right of access which extends to wild camping as a form of open-air recreation plus expert analysis of Vanhove v SSE and TRA, in which the High Court outlined the correct approach to be taken when considering an appeal against teaching prohibition orders; RP v Barnsley MDC, in which during an EHC Plan appeal, a bundle pagination error amounted to a procedural irregularity and error of law; the CA case of J v Bath and North East Somerset Council on the necessity of a DOLs order where all parties with parental responsibility consent; Tesco v SMBC, which considered the interpretation of the sequential test in retail planning; and Greenfields (IOW) Ltd v Isle of Wight Council, finding that failure to publish a section 106 agreement could put planning permission at risk. Case reports include R (Siderise Insulation Ltd) v The Mayor and Burgesses of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in which the court granted permission for a judicial review of the LA’s decision to prohibit Siderise products in its construction projects based on an arguable inconsistency with PCR 2015; R (Stoke Mandeville Parish Council) v Buckinghamshire Council, in which the court quashed the LA’s decision granting planning permission for a residential development, finding that the LA misinterpreted the Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan Policy on loss of existing sports and recreation facilities; Ealing LBC v The Father, in which the court determined the best outcome for a child under a special guardianship order combined with a rare, co-existing care order to the LA; and Mayor and Commonality and Citizens of The City of London v 48th Street Holding Ltd, in which a debt claim brought by the City of London to recover unpaid non-domestic rates and for declaratory relief was dismissed. The weekly highlights also includes further updates on Public procurement, Education, Social care, Planning, Children’s social care, Governance, Pensions, Social housing, Licensing and Environmental law and climate change.