Swinton Park Golf and Country Club 2017 Limited v Salford City Council
[2023] UKFTT 514 (GRC)
Brian Newton v Derbyshire Dales District Council & Anor
30 May 2024
[2024] UKFTT 435 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
A landowner challenged the listing of his allotments as a community asset. The judge decided that even though the landowner wanted to end community use, there was still a realistic chance the land could be used for allotments again (maybe the council would buy it), so the listing was correct.
Key Facts
- •Mr. Brian Newton appealed a decision listing Starkholmes Road Allotments as an Asset of Community Value (ACV).
- •The Derbyshire Dales District Council listed the allotments as an ACV on August 16, 2021.
- •Mr. Newton, the freehold owner, challenged the listing, and the appeal included the Starkholmes Allotments Association (SAA).
- •At the time of the listing decision, the allotments were in use, furthering the community's social wellbeing.
- •By the time of the appeal, allotment holders had been evicted, and community use ceased.
- •The central issue was whether it was 'realistic to think' that non-ancillary use furthering community wellbeing could continue.
Legal Principles
Criteria for listing land as an ACV under the Localism Act 2011, focusing on current and future community use.
Localism Act 2011, section 88(2)
Interpretation of 'realistic to think' regarding future use in ACV listings; it doesn't require a use to be more likely than not.
R. (TV Harrison CIC) v Leeds School Sports Association [2022] EWHC 130 (Admin), Gullivers Bowls Club Ltd v Rother District Council, Worthy Developments Ltd v Forest of Dean District Council
The appropriate approach to appeals against ACV listing review decisions. A nuanced approach, neither a de novo review nor strictly limited to judicial review standards.
R. (Begum) v Special Immigration Appeals Commission [2021] UKSC 7, Waltham Forest LBC v Hussain & Ors [2023] EWCA Civ 733, Cook v General Medical Council [2023] EWHC 1906 (Admin)
Outcomes
The appeal was dismissed.
The Tribunal found that the Council's decision to uphold the ACV listing was not wrong. The possibility of continued allotment use, even considering the owner's intentions, remained realistic due to potential compulsory acquisition by the council or a change in the owner's plans.
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