News and Resources
Below is a selection of news items, case notes, articles, books and papers authored by members of Chambers.
There is also a separate Archive of Inspector’s Reports in respect of applications to register new town or village greens.
FTB Receives Two Nominations for Legal 500 Bar Awards 2019
FTB is delighted to be nominated as Real Estate, Environment and Planning Set of the Year, 2019 by The Legal 500 Bar Awards. James Pereira QC has been nominated as Real Estate, Environment and Planning Silk of the Year. James was also nominated in 2016 and 2017. Read more
Listed Building Consent Appeal to Remove Secondary Staircase At Lygon Place Westminster Dismissed
A refusal by Westminster City Council to grant listed building consent for internal alterations to a Grade II listed building at Lygon Place, SW1W has been upheld on appeal. The main aspect of the listed building consent application dealt with by the Inspector concerned the proposal to remove a secondary staircase at the property and replace it with a lift. Read more
Meyric Lewis - Enterprise House Inquiry Closes
The inquiry on OCM Luxembourg's appeal against the refusal by Tower Hamlets Borough Council of planning permission for an 18 storey aparthotel in Buckle St E1 has just closed. The site is located in the Central Activities Zone and City Fringe/Tech City Opportunity Framework Area where tall buildings are acceptable in principle. But Council members refused planning permission contrary to officers' recommendation on grounds of impact on residential amenity, harm to the setting of heritage assets and overdevelopment due to the building’s height scale and mass and townscape impact. Read more
Aylesbury Estate: CPO Confirmed by the Secretary of State
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government has confirmed the London Borough of Southwark (Aylesbury Estate Site 1B-1C) Compulsory Purchase Order. In doing so, the Secretary of State accepted the recommendation of the appointed Inspector who held a four-week inquiry earlier this year. The inquiry involved a full re-hearing of the merits of confirming the Council’s CPO. The re-hearing arose as a consequence of the Secretary of State’s decision not to confirm the Order in September 2016, which was subsequently quashed following the Council’s judicial review of that decision. Read more
Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) Strikes Out Appeal Against Refusal To Consider Application For A Caravan Site Licence – [2018] UKUT 0354 (LC)
Following a one day hearing in the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), HHJ Huskinson has allowed the appeal of the London Borough of Havering against the refusal of the First-tier Tribunal to strike out Wyldecrest Parks (Management) Ltd’s appeal to the FTT against Havering’s refusal to consider Wyldecrest’s application for a caravan site licence in respect of land not benefitting from a grant of planning permission. Read more
Windmill Lap-Dancing Club Appeal Dismissed
Following a three day hearing in Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate) Emma Arbuthnot has dismissed the appeal of Big Country Limited (the company owning and running the Windmill Club in Soho) against Westminster City Council’s decision to refuse to renew its Sexual Entertainment Venue Licence. Despite the company (controlled by the Owide family) having operated the club as a sexual entertainment venue for the past 24 years, the Judge agreed with Westminster that Daniel Owide (who has controlled the company since 2017, and who “was very properly extensively challenged by Mr Matthias QC about his past licensing activities”) was unsuitable to hold such a licence. David Matthias QC acted for Westminster City Council. Read more
Enforcement Notice Quashed and Planning Permission Granted for Mosque
An Enforcement Notice issued by the Council of the London Borough of Brent has been quashed and planning permission granted for development carried out. Read more
Supreme Court to Hear ‘Statutory Incompatibility’ Appeal
R. (on the application of Lancashire CC) v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Bebbington; R (NHS Property Services Ltd) v Surrey County Council and Jones ([2018] EWCA Civ 721 [2018] 2 P. & C.R. 15) The Supreme Court (Lady Hale PSC; Lord Carnwath JSC and Lady Arden JSC) has granted permission to appeal against the decisions of the Court of Appeal handed down in March 2018. Read more
St John’s Wood Housing Appeal Dismissed
Westminster City Council has successfully resisted an appeal by Mansley Limited against the refusal of full planning permission for 3 residential dwellings - together with associated amenity space and landscaping works — adjacent to the St John’s Wood Conservation Area. Read more
New Judgment on Assessing Housing Land Supply
Justine Thornton QC, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, has given judgment in the case of Cheshire East Council v SSHCLG & Kirkham [2018] EWHC 2906 (Admin) concerning the assessment of five year housing land supply and the deliverability of sites within the claimed supply. Read more