The Court of Appeal has today (27 May) rejected the judicial review appeal by Cala Homes (South) Ltd over the Government’s decision to revoke the Regional Strategies.
Cala had claimed that the Government’s intention to revoke the Regional Strategies could not be a lawful material consideration for local authorities when making decisions on planning applications. The Court of Appeal has rejected this claim.
This ruling is the latest in the long-running legal dispute between Cala and the Government, which stretches back to last year. Click here for full details.
Although Cala lost the appeal, the Court of Appeal praised the clarification that the case has brought to this contentious issue. Also, whilst finding that it would be wrong to say that the intention to revoke the Regional Strategies could never be a lawful material consideration when considering planning applications, the Court of Appeal qualified this by saying that it would only be in extreme cases when the intention to revoke would constitute a material consideration.
The ruling, therefore, leaves the door open for housebuilders to launch appeals over some planning decisions.