Test Case Holds Key to Future Housing Developments as Councils Go To War Over Planning Decisions

LONDON, December 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The High Court is set to judicially review a planning decision made by a District Council in Suffolk in what will be a test case with potentially far-reaching implications for housing developments in rural England.

The case which is being heard by the High Court at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on the 7th December, will examine whether a decision by Babergh District Council to allow a housing development in the picturesque and historic village of East Bergholt was lawful.

The case, which is being brought by East Bergholt Parish Council, concerns the building of 10 homes in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty best known for inspiring the works of landscape artist John Constable. A separate decision on the same day by the same District Council to allow 144 homes to be built on another site in East Bergholt is now being reconsidered and could depend on the outcome of this test case. Overall, across the district, the development of more than 415 houses in rural parts of Suffolk depend on the outcome of this case.

David Bowman, a senior associate at law firm Royds Withy King, who is representing East Bergholt Parish Council in their planning battle against Babergh District Council, said: "There are a number of parish councils in Suffolk and across rural England that will be eagerly awaiting the outcome of this case. The judgment will clarify how local housing needs should be met in rural locations in view of the ever increasing pressure on local planning authorities to allow residential development. At least three judicial reviews are currently being brought by rural Parish Councils against Babergh District Council and this case will be the test case which will decide whether hundreds of new homes are built in this beautiful, culturally-significant and as yet unspoilt part of Suffolk."

The judicial review will consider three points of law. In particular:

• How much weight a local planning authority should give to Neighbourhood Development Plans which place limits on development and which are at an advanced stage but not yet finalised.
• Whether the New Homes Bonus awarded by the Government to Councils as an incentive to develop more houses is capable of creating an undue pre-disposition towards authorising development or even outright bias.
• To what extent housing policy should be interpreted in relation to the needs of the whole district or the particular needs of the local area where the development will take place.

For the full press release, visit: https://www.roydswithyking.com/test-case-planning/

For media enquiries, contact Natalie Birrell: 07557 356860 and natalie@nb-pr.co.uk