Cases - Proberun Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment

Record details

Name

Proberun Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment

Date

[1990]

Citation

3 PLR 79

Keywords

Planning control

Summary

The Secretary of State, on appeal, had granted outline permission for 90 holiday homes. One of the reserved matters was approval for the means of access to the site. The highway authority required the junction between the access road and the main road to be reconstructed or the access road to be moved to emerge at a different point. Either of these would necessitate the acquisition of land not in the control of the developer. The local planning authority failed to make a decision within the time limit and the developer appealed. The inspector quashed the appeal on the ground of the unsuitability of access and the developer challenged that decision in the courts.

The Court of Appeal held that, as the developer's proposals, although unsatisfactory, were the best that could be achieved within the limits of the site, to refuse permission would be a misuse of power. It would achieve, without compensation, a revocation or modification order.