Joicey, R (on the Application of) v Northumberland County Council
2014
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
UK
CORAM
- MR JUSTICE CRANSTON
Areas of Law
- Administrative Law
- Environmental Law
2014
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
UK
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The case of R & J Barber Farms Ltd's application for planning permission to erect a wind turbine at Brackenside Farm was challenged by Andrew Joicey. The key issues were the non-availability of a noise assessment report impacting public participation and the Council's flawed interpretation of 'financial involvement' in planning guidance. The court quashed the planning permission, holding that without timely disclosure of essential information, the claimant was denied fair participation in the decision-making process. The applicable areas of law included Administrative Law and Environmental Law.
Judgment
Mr Justice Cranston :
I INTRODUCTION
This judicial review raises an issue about the consequences when information which by law is to be accessible to members of the public is not available in a timely fashion to enable them to participate effectively in democratic decision-making. I decide that a claimant in this position is entitled to have the decision quashed unless the decision-maker can demonstrate that it would inevitably have come to the same conclusion even if the information had been available. The issue arises in the context of an application to quash the grant of planning permission for the erection of a wind turbine at Brackenside Farm, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland. Another issue which arises in the course of the case is the interpretation of the concept of financial involvement, where in planning guidance financial involvement in a wind turbine can lead to a greater exposure to the noise it will generate if permission is granted to erect it.
II BACKGROUND
The parties
R & J Barber Farms Ltd (“the applicant”) is the company of John Barber and his family, which owns and farms Brackenside Farm in Northumberland (“Brackenside”). They applied for planning permission to erect a wind turbine on the farm. Brackenside is approximately 4km west of the village of Lowick and 11.5km south of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Of the properties on the farm, one is occupied by Mr John Barber and his wife, another by his son and his wife. There are three cottages occupied on shorthold tenancies. A sixth property is occupied by a retired farm worker and the seventh is rented out as a holiday let. The applicant says that when the wind turbine is operational, all the properties will be connected to the grid and receive electricity at the preferential export rate.
The claimant, Andrew Joicey, is a landowner and farmer who lives at New Etal, Cornhill-on-Tweed in Northumberland. He is critical of the way that renewable energy is subsidised which leads (in his view) to a less than optimal selection of sites for wind turbines. He campaigns on the issue. His friend, Dr John Ferguson, a retired chartered engineer and clergyman, lives in the neighbourhood.
The defendant, Northumberland County Council (“the Council”), is the planning authority for the area and granted permission for the Brackenside turbine. Cllr Paul Kelly chairs the Council’s Planning, Environment and Rights of Way Committee (“the planning committee”). Karen Ledger is the head of Development Serv