With a face wreathed in smiles, Cllr Liz Townsend, Waverley’s Portfolio for Planning, announced the good news to her executive colleagues.
” I am very pleased to announce that the High Court has upheld our decision to adopt Local Plan Part 2, and the claim for a statutory review has been dismissed and the claimants have not sought permission to appeal.”
She thanked all those involved in the lengthy hearing, which had taken up “an awful lot of officer’s time.” Including Cornerstone Barristers.
Earlier, another judge gave leave to Barrister Mr Tim House and his wife Isobel to challenge the decisions of the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and ‘Your Waverley’ in the High Court. Had the move been successful, it could have threatened Waverley’s Local Plan Part 2. It is a blueprint for future development in the borough.
Here’s the decision.
And here are the guys who clinched it. Barristers Wayne Baglan and Jack Barber.
There will shortly be presentations to both Parish and District councillors about the Local Plan Part 1 review, and there will soon be a new “call for sites” starting in December.
In the link below, Tim House, the property owner overlooking the covenanted land in Milford where Cala Homes wants to build 180 properties, tells Waverley’s Planners in 2021 why it should refuse the scheme in Station Lane.
Cala Homes told us to “ think again” if it wants to build at Milford Golf Course.
Here’s our earlier post: You couldn’t ’t make it up. Waverley’s Local Plan Part 2 is now threatened.
Mr House – a top London lawyer – warned the council and the developer that he would seek to exercise a covenant on the land, which precluded it from such a large-scale and dense development. He has now failed to prove the crucial planning document is not legally sound. The move cost Waverley ratepayers and Government taxpayers large sums in legal fees.
WW believes Mr and Mrs House can still challenge the validity of the covenant.
Hear from the Milford man challenging Waverley’s LP2 in the High Court.
Waverley BC has already provided enough sites for its crumbling infrastructure and congested roads?
Sadly not enough to satisfy the Government that appears unconcerned that our towns and villages are running out of water or wading in sewage.
Agreed, planning lacks holistic vision and the local housing cost compared to local wages a betrayal of the younger generations. A barrier to planning justice is the lack of planning transparency and insufficient encouragement for those harmed by planning decisions to engage local government, which has significant discretion. Local authorities should have the power to set the cost of affordable homes at a realistic multiple of average local income, a critical social requirement of sustainable development.