Cases - London Residuary Body v Secretary of State for the Environment
Record details
- Name
- London Residuary Body v Secretary of State for the Environment
- Date
- [1989]
- Citation
- 3 PLR 105
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Planning control - Use Classes Order 1987
- Summary
-
One of the key issues in this case was whether County Hall, the seat of the former Greater London Council ('GLC'), had use rights as offices within the Use Classes Order 1987 or whether the GLC's use was sui generis (unclassified) so that a change to office use could be material.
In the Court of Appeal Lord Justice Slade approved the planning inspector's statement that:
'where one has a complicated situation as is the case at County Hall, it is agreed that one needs to determine the primary purpose of the use.'
The inspector considered that, although most of the premises were used as offices, the primary use was governmental, with the distinct characteristics of an elected government use including: public debate and decision making, voting lobbies and party politics, press gallery, public meetings, public involvement and public access, etc. Accordingly Lord Justice Slade found the inspector entitled to regard the predominant use as not being as an office in the relevant sense.
The Court of Appeal held that the Secretary of State was wrong to categorise class B1 of the Use Classes Order 1987 as limited to commercial offices. The word 'business' in the title does not have that effect. So offices for administering a charity, or military offices (as in Shephard v Buckinghamshire County Council (1966)) may fall within class B1. However, on the facts, the government use of County Hall was sui generis.