Council cancels planning permission following legal threat from retailer

Milton Keynes Council is to quash its own grant of planning permission for a project, made under delegated powers, after a legal threat from retailer Tesco.

A council statement issued to Local Government Lawyer said: “The council will be agreeing to a consent order to quash the permission and the application will revert back to the council for re-determination.”

The Milton Keynes Citizen reported that planners had used delegated powers in April to allow the demolition of some shops in the Oldbrook area to clear the way for construction of a Lidl store. This though would have seen the demolition of a branch of Tesco Express.

Tesco threatened to take the matter to judicial review, arguing that decision should have been made by the planning committee rather than by officers.

It also argued that the Lidl project was contrary to Milton Keynes’ planning policies, although the council initially disputed this.