How to interpret planning conditions (DB Symmetry v Swindon Borough Council)

Article summary

Planning analysis: In DB Symmetry v Swindon Borough Council, the question before the court was whether the access roads within a development could only be used by members of the public with the permission of the site owners or management company, or whether the outline planning permission for the development required the public to have rights of way (including in vehicles) over those access roads. All this depended on the construction of the planning permission. The council was successful in the High Court, challenging the planning inspector’s decision to allow an appeal against its refusal of a certificate of lawfulness of proposed use or development. However, at the Court of Appeal, DB Symmetry Ltd was successful as the court upheld the planning inspector’s decision that the condition regulated the construction of the roads, and did not require them to be dedicated as public highways. Written by Martha Grekos, director (barrister) at Martha Grekos Legal Consultancy Ltd.