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Choudhury J has handed down judgment in Mole Valley DC v SSHCLG [2025] EWHC 2127 (Admin), a challenge to an inspector’s decision to grant planning permission for gypsy and traveller pitches in Newdigate.
The challenge was brought on 3 grounds. (1) that where development is “appropriate” development in the Green Belt it can still give rise to harm to the green belt. The Court of Appeal’s decision otherwise in Lee Valley [2016] JPL 1009 (decided under NPPF 2012) did not apply to NPPF 2024, and/or was wrongly decided, the Court of Appeal’s decision in Lochailort [2021] JPL 568 should be preferred. (2) the Inspector misinterpreted the PPTS when deciding whether sites were “deliverable” because he assumed if a site did not have planning permission it was not deliverable. (3) on the question of supply of traveller pitches, the Inspector wrongly failed to consider the Examining Inspector’s report for the Mole Valley Local Plan on the availability of pitches and that was a mandatory material consideration.
The Court concluded all three grounds were unarguable.
On ground (1), NPPF 2024 operates in the same way as NPPF 2012 such that appropriate development does not give rise to harm to the Green Belt. Lee Valley was rightly decided and the obiter comments in Lochailort (where Lee Valley was not cited) should not be followed.
On ground (2), the Inspector had not misdirected himself as he hadn’t made the assumption complained of.
On ground (3), the Examining Inspector’s report was not a mandatory material consideration on the facts of this case. It was not relied upon at the time, the Examining Inspector was undertaking a different task, it concerned different time periods, the figures put by the Council in the appeal were not consistent with the Examining Inspector’s findings in any event, and to require an inspector of her own volition to go behind the presented material to identify potentially relevant content in earlier reports would impose a disproportionate and unnecessary burden.
Alex Goodman KC and Dr Ashley Bowes appeared for the Claimant, instructed by Mole Valley District Council.
Richard Moules KC and Nick Grant appeared for the Secretary of State, instructed by the GLD. Rupert Warren KC acted at earlier stages of the proceedings.
Stephen Whale appeared for the Second Defendant.
A copy of the judgment can be found here.
