District wins judicial review over wind turbines near Grade 1 listed building

March 8, 2013

A district council has successfully challenged in the High Court a planning inspector’s decision to grant permission for four wind turbines to be built within one mile of a Grade 1 listed building.

East Northamptonshire District Council had initially refused to give planning permission for the 126.5m turbines. However, this was overturned by the inspector, who gave consent for the development near Lyveden New Bield.

Together with English Heritage and the National Trust, the local authority launched legal proceedings under s. 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

It was the first time that East Northamptonshire had taken a case to that level.

In East Northamptonshire District Council & Ors v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government & Anor [2013] EWHC 473, Mrs Justice Lang said the claimants’ application under section 288 TCPA 1990 had succeeded because the inspector had:

“failed to give proper effect to the duty under section 66(1) Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 when carrying out the balancing exercise;
failed properly to interpret and apply the relevant planning policies on the effect of development on the setting of heritage assets, which meant that the balancing exercise was flawed;
failed to give adequate reasons for his decision.”

Cllr Steven North, Leader of East Northamptonshire Council, said: "This is great news for Lyveden New Bield as its character and natural beauty can continue to be enjoyed uninterrupted.

"We believe that there is a case for wind power as part of a balanced response to our future energy needs but applications such as this need to pay due regard to the beauty and tranquillity of our unique landscapes."

Simmon Thurley, English Heritage’s Chief Executive, said: “We brought our joint challenge because we felt the inspector’s decision did not strike a proper balance between the conservation of outstandingly important historic sites and wind energy…..

“We very much welcomed the Government's earlier concession that the decision lacked adequate reasoning and we now welcome the judgment that the inspector failed to give ‘proper effect’ to the statutory duty to have special regard for the setting of listed buildings. We very much hope that this will be the end of the matter."