Court of Appeal gives guidance on demolition in Conservation Areas

The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in Walter Lilly v Clin [2021] EWCA Civ 136, a construction dispute which features a dispute as to the correct approach to assessing whether a proposal involves demolition in a Conservation Area. The Court rejected Mr Clin’s argument that the question, which was agreed to involve an application of the leading case of Shimizu, also required decision-makers to have regard to whether the works in question affected the character and appearance of the Conservation Area. The Court held that the obligation to have regard to those matters under s.72(1) of the LPCA 1990 applied to the control of demolition overall in s.74 of the 1990 Act, but not to the part of the exercise which was concerned with whether demolition was proposed, as opposed to whether it should be permitted. Rupert Warren QC appeared with construction specialists from Keating Chambers (David Thomas QC and Matthew Finn) and instructed by Pinsent Masons, for the successful party, Walter Lilly. James Maurici QC appeared as part of a similar team for Mr Clin.