Cases - R v Westminster City Council, ex parte Monahan

Record details

Name

R v Westminster City Council, ex parte Monahan

Date

[1989]

Citation

2 AII ER 74

Keywords

Planning control

Summary

Permission was granted for the extension and improvement of the Opera House at Covent Garden. The grant also permitted the erection of office accommodation on part of the site. Although this was a departure from the development plan it was necessary to fund the improvements to the Opera House. The Covent Garden Community Association challenged the grant of permission on the ground that the inclusion of office accommodation for financial reasons was not a material consideration.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the challenge. Lord Justice Kerr said:

'Financial constraints on the economic viability of a desirable planning development are unavoidable facts of life in an imperfect world. It would be unreal and contrary to common sense to insist that they must be excluded from the range of considerations which may properly be regarded as material in determining planning applications. Where they are shown to exist they may call for compromises or even sacrifices in what would otherwise be regarded as the optimum from the point of view of the public interest.'

As the offices were not ulterior or extraneous but part of a composite development, their provision fairly and reasonably related to the proposed development.