Andrew Tarling v Somerset Council & Anor
[2024] UKFTT 442 (GRC)
Pavillion (Watford) Limited v Three Rivers District Council
30 May 2024
[2024] UKFTT 443 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
A pub was nominated to be protected as a community asset. The owner appealed, saying the nomination was unfair and the pub didn't qualify. The judge decided the nomination was fair and the pub *could* be used for the community again, so the pub will remain protected.
Key Facts
- •Pavilion (Watford) Limited appealed the listing of 'The Pavilion' as an Asset of Community Value (ACV).
- •The Pavilion, a former pub, is part of a larger playing fields complex.
- •The appellant argued the nomination was abusive, invalid, and that the building did not meet the ACV criteria.
- •The local authority, Three Rivers District Council, upheld the listing.
- •The Tribunal considered the appeal afresh, giving weight to the local authority's views.
Legal Principles
The five-year period for the Future Condition in section 88(2)(b) of the Localism Act 2011 runs from the date of listing, not the hearing date.
R. (TV Harrison CIC) v Leeds School Sports Association [2022] EWHC 130 (Admin), Waltham Forest London Borough Council v Hussain & Ors [2023] EWCA Civ 733
A local authority must list land as an ACV if the nomination complies with the Act and regulations, and the land meets the section 88 criteria.
Localism Act 2011, sections 88, 90
The appeal is not a de novo review but gives weight to the local authority's decision; the Tribunal must only overturn the decision if it is 'wrong'.
Cook v General Medical Council [2023] EWHC 1906 (Admin), Waltham Forest LBC v Hussain & Ors [2023] EWCA (Civ) 733
For the Future Condition, commercial viability is not the test; the potential for community use must be realistic, not necessarily more likely than not.
Gullivers Bowls Club Ltd v Rother District Council, Worthy Developments Ltd v Forest of Dean District Council
Outcomes
The appeal was dismissed.
The Tribunal found that the nomination was valid, the Pavilion met both the Past and Future Conditions for ACV listing, and the local authority's decision was correct.
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