R v Alnwick District Council ex parte and Others

JurisdictionEngland & Wales
CourtCourt of Appeal (Civil Division)
JudgeMR JUSTICE SEDLEY
Judgment Date29 October 1997
Judgment citation (vLex)[1997] EWCA Civ J1029-6
Date29 October 1997
Docket NumberCO/3263/96

[1997] EWCA Civ J1029-6

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE

QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION

(CROWN OFFICE LIST)

Royal Courts of Justice

Strand

London WC2

Before:

Mr Justice Sedley

CO/3263/96

Regina
and
Alnwick District Council
Respondent
Ex Parte
(1) Alan Robson
(2) Kathleen Robson
Applicant

MR D BROOK (Instructed by Messrs Sinton & Co, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 1SQ) appeared on behalf of the Applicants.

MR R MERRITT (Instructed by the District Council) appeared on behalf of the Respondent.

1

( )

2

Wednesday, 29 October 1997

MR JUSTICE SEDLEY
3

The applicant, Mr Robson, is a resident owner of a dwelling house in the area of the Alnwick District Council which stands in an area of the Northumbrian coase designated as one of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Between the Robsons' house and the sea to the east of it is at present open space, but since 1990 various planning permissions have been sought and obtained which, if implemented, are going to lead to building (subject to various conditions of location and design) between the Robsons' house and the sea. Mr and Mrs Robson understandably are hostile to such development.

4

Among the applications made was one which came before the Planning and Economic Development Committee of Alnwick District Council on 2 July 1996 under the designation 96/A/179. The application sought and obtained permission for two dwellings to be erected in the position that I have described, subject to conditions including subsequent approval of the siting, design and external appearance of the buildings and their means of access and landscaping, and subject to a further condition that one of the dwellings should be single-storey only and sited to relate to the adjacent property (that is to say, the Robsons' house).

5

These conditions subsequent, which accompanied the outline permission, did not meet the whole of the Robsons' objection, which was a root and branch objection to any development on the site. They had written to the council in June 1996, on receipt of due notice of the application, to record this objection. Mr Robson's letter of 10 June began:

"I wish to strongly object to the future proposed dwellings ref no's 96/A/179 and 96/A/195 on the grounds that the future dwellings are East of the building line that was approved for my bungalow, the school, and proposed development of four houses, which was submitted to you by the church commission, of which we were not informed.

"When I initially applied for building permission for my existing bungalow, I understood that after my search by Alnwick Rural District Council, no further development would be allowed. (Copies available if required)."

6

The director of planning, upon receipt of this letter, replied in these terms:

"I am in receipt of your letter regarding the above subject, the contents of which will be reported to the Planning & Economic Development Committee when the application is considered. You should also be aware that as such, the letter may become part of a report to which the public have access… The Council currently operates a scheme whereby you may speak on this application at the relevant committee should you wish to do so. A leaflet providing details of the scheme is enclosed for your information."

7

I will come in a moment to the critical matter, which is the contents of that leaflet.

8

On 21 June, Mr Robson acknowledged receipt of the letter and its enclosure, and wrote:

"Would you please inform me as to the specific date and time of the meeting of the above, as I would like to be present and speak to the relevant committee about the application".

9

The letter was received on 24 June 1996.

10

The meeting which was going consider the planning application was set, as I have indicated, for Tuesday, 2 July. That date was fixed by the local authority on the Monday or Tuesday of the previous week; that is to say, the council itself had six clear days' knowledge of when its committee was to meet.

11

The leaflet enclosed with the Director of Planning's letter was captioned: "Public Speaking at Committee". I will read the whole of the first third of it, which is the part that matters to the present case:

"Introduction

"Alnwick District Council welcomes the views of persons with an interest in applications for planning permission etc either as an objector or supporter. In the majority of cases representations to the Council will be made in writing and these views will be taken into account when a decision is made to approve or refuse permission. To complement this system the District Council has introduced new procedures whereby objectors and/or supporters of a proposal can make their views known to the relevant Committee verbally. [What is clearly meant is orally.]

"What you must do if you wish to speak at Committee.

"In order to ensure the proper and efficient conduct of the business of the Committee the following procedures have been drawn up and should be strictly adhered to by persons wishing to speak at Committee:—

Anyone wishing to speak for or against a planning application should first write to the Planning Department indicating the issues they wish to raise and clearly stating their intention to speak. Whilst it is the responsibility of speakers to find out which Committee a particular application is going to a daytime telephone number should be provided so they may be informed of the date, time and venue of the Committee meeting which is due to determine the application. It may also be necessary to make contact at short notice to notify of any last minute change in circumstances.

The written request to speak must be received by the Planning Department no later than 12.00 noon on the last working day before the relevant Committee".

12

Mr Robson had not given a telephone number in the letter intimating his desire to speak. No contact, whether by telephone or by letter, was made with him, with the result that the meeting of 2 June went by without his participation...

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