House-building targets still stand while courts thrash it out

After an extraordinary flurry of legal moves over the abolition of regional strategies, national house-building targets still stand.

They will do so for days, but possibly weeks, pending a judicial review.

This has been successfully sought by house builder Cala Homes, which has now won both rounds so far in a legal battle against the Government.

The latest hearing has resulted in a temporary block on the abolition by CLG of regional strategies.

It will now be for the Government to defend in the courts its flagship policy.

Cala Homes, which is to appeal against refusal to build 2,000 houses at Winchester, essentially argued at the first hearing that it is wrong for any Government policy to be ditched without transitional rules in place. It said that the Government had announced the abolition, but had only promised new polices, but which still had to be laid before Parliament or enshrined in law.

The court agreed and declared that the abolition of regional strategies, announced by Eric Pickles, CLG secretary, was illegal.

After this first ruling, Pickles said it was irrelevant because the forthcoming Localism Bill would put new planning policies in place. He also said that advice issued to local planning authorities still stood.

That advice, given by CLG chief planner Steve Quartermain to local authorities in May, was that regional strategies – or national house-building targets – should not be a material consideration when deciding planning applications.

Clearly infuriated, Cala Homes then went back to court, which duly ‘stayed’ this planning advice. 

This second hearing also accepted Cala Homes’ claim for a judicial review.

High Court judge Mr Justice Lindblom ruled that there must be a full hearing into the legality of the Government’s stance.

A third hearing is now set for December 20 or the first available date after – in fact, highly unlikely to be January at the very earliest.

Cala Homes will have to serve a ‘skeleton argument’ five days before the hearing and CLG will have to submit one three days before.

Ian Ginbey, head of planning at law firm Macfarlanes which acts for CALA Homes, said: “In the absence of substantive transitional provisions, we are seeking to restore some clarity to the planning framework. We are of the view that decision makers should not have regard to a mere intention to change the law at some indeterminate point in the future.



"The Court has agreed with this approach, pending a full legal hearing into the lawfulness of the Secretary of State’s statement and the chief planner’s advice.



“As such, until the outcome of that hearing is announced, it is clear that decision makers should have full regard to regional strategies as part of the statutory development plan.”