High Court dismisses judicial review of decision to grant planning permission for tourism development in the countryside

In R (Austin) v Wiltshire Council [2017] EWHC 38 (Admin), the High Court dismissed the Claimant’s application for judicial review of Wiltshire Council’s decision to grant planning permission for the extension and upgrading of an existing camping and touring caravan site in the countryside. The Claimant’s main ground was an attack on the approach of the Council’s officer to the impact of the proposed development on a nearby listed building. Dismissing the claim, the judge affirmed that the Council’s planning officer was entitled to reach a different conclusion from the Council’s conservation officer on the likely impact on the listed building. Although the conservation officer had concluded that there would be some harm to the listed building and advised the planning officer to consider the application in line with paragraph 134 of the NPPF, the planning officer had concluded that there would be no harm to the listed building and therefore her failure to refer to paragraph 134 of the NPPF in her report to Committee Members was justified and lawful. Toby Fisher represented Wiltshire Council.