The human right to peaceful enjoyment of private property must sometimes give way to the national need for major infrastructure projects. The High Court made that point in rejecting a concerned householder’s bid to force a rethink of the design of part of the HS2
The desirability of preserving heritage assets carries great, often decisive, weight in the planning process. In a case on point, the High Court scotched plans to erect a 32-storey tower block within sight of Kew Gardens. The owner of a strategic site on the other
Unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) impinge on the right of individuals to treat their finances as a private matter. However, as a High Court ruling made plain, they are justified as an essential investigatory tool in the fight to stop the property market being used to
Developing land for housing can provide the knock-on benefits of saving troubled businesses, thus preserving jobs and local economic health. However, as a High Court ruling showed, such advantages do not always outweigh planning objections. The case concerned a luxury hotel in severe financial difficulties.
Metropolitan Green Belts are precious but, in an era of escalating housing demand, they cannot be viewed as sacrosanct. The High Court made that point in opening the way for the release of swathes of Green Belt land for construction of thousands of new homes
Meeting hot demand for new homes is a central objective of planning policy, but so is preserving precious green spaces. The High Court struck a balance between those two objectives in scotching plans to build hundreds of dwellings in a green wedge that divides two
Discrimination is generally a dirty word, but it can very occasionally be justified. The High Court made that point in dismissing a challenge to a social housing charity’s policy of giving preference to members of the Orthodox Jewish community. The charity provided 470 homes in
Official decision making is frequently imperfect, but judges will only intervene if errors made have a real impact on the final outcome. In a case exactly on point, the High Court upheld planning permission for a major regeneration project despite having identified a mistake in
Housing developments in the open countryside are frequently controversial but, as a High Court case showed, social and economic advantages – particularly the provision of affordable housing – can sometimes tilt the balance in their favour. A developer’s proposal to build 10 homes on farmland
