Cases - Fayrewood Fish Farms Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment and Hampshire County Council
Record details
- Name
- Fayrewood Fish Farms Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment and Hampshire County Council
- Date
- [1984]
- Citation
- JPL 267
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Planning control
- Summary
-
F excavated and removed topsoil and other materials from agricultural land to construct fishponds. He claimed that the works were engineering operations for the purposes of agriculture (fish farming) and were therefore permitted development under the GDO 1977. (The current Order is different in this respect.) The planning inspector took the then Department of the Environment line that engineering operations would normally be the exercise of civil engineering skills in the construction of a specific project of sufficient size and shape that it can be illustrated by a plan or drawing with, where necessary, explanatory notes. On appeal to the High Court, the judge thought that this went too far. Although the existence of a plan could constitute important evidence, it was not essential. The judge also stated that the term 'engineering operations' should be given its ordinary meaning in the English language, so the engineering skills required were not necessarily those of a civil engineer. Nor was it necessary that an engineer be actually engaged on the project. Accordingly, the matter was remitted to the Secretary of State.