R. (on the application of Fox Strategic Land and Property Ltd) v Chorley BC and Preston CC and South Ribble BC

摘要

Comment. This judgment concerns the first challenge to a Community Infrastructure Levy charging schedule. Paragraphs 9-32 offer a useful primer on the charge setting process. The nature of the exercise is discussed most helpfully in paras 100-107. Setting a charge is an exercise for the local authority to decide a figure within what in practice are fairly broad parameters. The examiner's responsibility is to decide whether an appropriate balance has been struck rather than to decide what figure he would have set [106]. In the maze of potential sources of information on viability and approaches to it, the Court did not find any particular decisive matter. Deciding the charging rate was therefore a matter of reaching a judgment having regard to different sources of evidence. In those circumstances there was less need to reach a firm conclusion on any particular matter. This is different to litigation-as Mr Justice Lindblom pointed out [107]-but also to many of the issues on planning appeals which can and need to be decided in a yes or no fashion.