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DC Casebook: Court cases - Inspector overruled following bias claim

Mixed use development

Planning, 12 December 2008

Developers seeking permission to build a shop and 12 flats in Norfolk have persuaded the High Court to quash an inspector's decision because he had previously worked for the county council.

The developers argued that the former bus station was unlikely to be reused as such and if permission were denied it would remain vacant. They claimed that the inspector had failed to deal with this point. He used to work for the county council and had applied some highway policies that did not seem relevant to the case, they contended.

Mr Justice Collins agreed that the inspector had failed to consider the implications for the site if permission were refused. The inspector should not have made the developers prove that there was little chance of reuse when the council's evidence was less than persuasive, he held. The inspector's claim that his ability to determine the appeal was not prejudiced missed the point, the judge ruled.

Ortona Ltd v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Date 19 November 2008

Ref CO/8670/2007.