Council defeats High Court challenge over sale of large plot of land next to football stadium

West Northamptonshire Council has successfully defended a judicial review challenge brought by an unsuccessful bidder over the local authority’s decision to sell land adjacent to Sixfields Stadium, the home of Northampton Town Football Club.

The decision to sell about 8.25 Ha of land to County Developments (Northampton) Limited (CDNL), which is owned by the football club, was taken on 8 March 2022.

The claimant company, Cilldara Group Holdings, which had made rival offers including one for a larger amount than CDNL was to pay, sought judicial review of the decision.

Permission was granted by HHJ Simon (sitting as a Judge of the High Court) on 7 November 2022 to pursue six grounds, namely:

1. The decision was taken in a procedurally improper fashion and/or the process adopted lacked for procedural fairness (‘Ground 1: procedural fairness’);
2. The council breached its Tameside duty of inquiry (‘Ground 2: Tameside duty of inquiry’);
3. The council predetermined the party to whom it intended to dispose of the relevant land (‘Ground 3: predetermination’);
4. The council breached its obligation not to dispose of land for less than the best consideration that can reasonably be obtained, contrary to s.123(2) of the Local Government Act 1972 (‘LGA 1972’) (‘Ground 4: section 123(2) LGA 1972’);
5. The decision was irrational and/or the council failed to take into account relevant considerations and/or took into account irrelevant considerations (‘Ground 5: irrationality and relevant/irrelevant considerations’); and
6. The council failed to provide any or any adequate reasons for the decision (‘Ground 6: reasons’).

West Northamptonshire submitted that each of the grounds should be dismissed and in the alternative that any procedural error Cilldara may succeed in establishing would not have made a difference to the outcome, and so relief should be refused pursuant to s.31(2A) of the Senior Courts Act 1981.

In Cilldara Group Holdings Ltd v West Northamptonshire Council [2023] EWHC 1675 (Admin) Mrs Justice Steyn dismissed the claim on all grounds. It was therefore unnecessary to consider the council’s reliance on s.31(2A).

Cllr Jonathan Nunn, Council Leader at West Northamptonshire Council, said: “We always make important decisions through the most careful consideration, and this decision was one for which we thought through every aspect and detail.

“We also took a great deal of advice, both from our own officers and from external professionals. We were therefore optimistic that the decision we made was sound, given the complexities presented by the leases in place on this land, and what we felt the likelihood was of bringing it forward for development.

“Despite questions raised in some quarters since Cabinet’s decision to dispose of the land to CDNL, Cilldara’s challenge through the High Court has been unsuccessful, and we’ve been completely vindicated on all six of the grounds raised.”

Cllr Nunn added that the local authority still had “much work to do in shaping and agreeing the final detail of the contractual arrangements with the club, and this will commence immediately”.

He said the council would now be seeking costs against Cilldara.