Testing the law on a deliberate breach of planning control
On Tuesday 13 October, the East and South Buckinghamshire Area Planning Committee considered an application for two pitches on land off Hog Lane, Ashley Green. The site had been concreted over the Easter weekend despite a temporary stop notice, and is subject to a High Court injunction.
The case turned on a technical legal question: whether the land is "grey belt". I took the committee through the council's own witness statement to the High Court, and asked officers why the council's position had changed in six months. I also asked whether the High Court had been told of that change, as the council's undertakings to the court require.
After a full debate, the committee refused the application. The grounds were harm to the Green Belt, the substantial weight given to the deliberate breach of planning control, and the lack of mitigation for the Chilterns Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation.
