High Court quashes planning permission for failure to consider a development plan policy (TV Harrison CIC v Leeds CC)

Article summary

Planning analysis: In a challenge to the decision of a local planning authority (LPA) to grant planning permission for housing on a longstanding sports field, the judge, Mr Justice Eyre, held that the LPA had erred in law by failing to have regard to a development plan policy which restricted the development of playing pitches, notwithstanding that the site was allocated for housing and that the LPA had considered paragraph 99 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The judge said that the development plan policy was clearly of relevance and that there were relevant differences in substance between the policy and NPPF paragraph 99. He further declined to refuse relief under section 31(2A) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 (SCA 1981) as he was not satisfied that it was highly likely that the outcome would not have been substantially different if the LPA had considered the policy. Written by Howard Leithead, barrister...