Cases - Sosmo Trust v Secretary of State for the Environment and Camden London Borough Council

Record details

Name

Sosmo Trust v Secretary of State for the Environment and Camden London Borough Council

Date

[1983]

Citation

JPL 806

Keywords

Planning control

Summary

The only proposed scheme for development of a site that would produce an economic return involved a 6-storey office development contrary to the local plan. The Secretary of State refused permission even though this would result in the site remaining derelict as the other schemes would not be implemented. He considered that the financial aspects of the development were irrelevant. In the High Court Mr Justice Woolf quashed this decision. He stated that cost can be a relevant consideration and pointed out that:

'what would be significant was not the financial viability or lack of financial viability of a particular project but the consequences of that financial viability or lack of financial viability.'