R. (on the application of Skillcrown Homes Ltd) v Dartford BC

摘要

This was a claim for judicial review of the decision of Dartford BC ("the Council") to decline to determine a planning application pursuant to s.70A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ("the 1990 Act"). The planning application was for redevelopment of land to include the replacement of two existing houses with eight houses. Outline planning permission had been granted in 1988 for 13 houses but that permission had lapsed. Subsequent applications were made in 1990 and 2005 and in 2008, an application for eight houses was refused and an appeal was dismissed. In September 2010, an application was made for eight houses by the present claimant. The application was refused but an appeal was allowed in 2011. The appeal decision was quashed in March 2012 and the matter was remitted to the Secretary of State who dismissed it in October 2012. The Inspector had concluded that the proposal would have the benefit of providing additional housing but it would have a relatively high level of dependence on travel by car and would result in some harm to biodiversity. He considered that those factors outweighed the benefit of the proposal.