PLANNING

Local plan - local planning authority purporting to withdraw proposals for alteration or replacement of local plan following initial deposit but before adoption - authority empowered to withdraw proposalsR (Persimmon Homes (Thames Valley) Ltd and ors) v North Hertfordshire District Council: QBD (Mr Justice Collins):20 July 2001The local planning authority prepared a replacement to its existing local plan and placed the proposals on deposit.

The authority subsequently purported to withdraw the proposed replacement plan, before it had been adopted by them or approved by the secretary of state.

The claimants sought judicial review of the decision to withdraw the proposals, on the ground that a local planning authority had no such powers.Robin Purchas QC and Douglas Edwards (instructed by Davies & Partners, Gloucester) for the claimants.

Timothy Morshead (instructed by Head of Legal & Democratic Services, North Hertfordshire District Council, Letchworth) for the local planning authority.

David Holgate QC (instructed by Treasury Solicitor) for the secretary of state, an interested party.Held, dismissing the application, that the lack of an express statutory power to withdraw an emerging local plan was in contrast to the powers contained in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to withdraw structure plans and unitary development plans at any time before their adoption by the local planning authority or approval by the secretary of state; that it was impossible to identify any sensible reason for the different approaches to withdrawal; that it would be absurd to require proposals to be put through the statutory procedure including a public inquiry when the authority knew in advance that they would not be adopted, and the existence of the power was necessary to avoid an authority having to carry out those expensive procedures for no sensible purpose; and that therefore the local planning authority had power to withdraw the proposals.