Suzanne Merrills, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
[2024] EWHC 1219 (Admin)
Home Farm Land Limited v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities & Anor
10 October 2023
[2023] EWHC 2566 (Admin)
High Court
Someone tried to challenge a planning decision but was too late. They missed the deadline to file their paperwork with the court, even though they tried to drop it off. The court said there was no good reason for the delay, so they lost their case.
Key Facts
- •Claimant sought permission to apply for planning statutory review under s.288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
- •The claim was filed/served outside the six-week period prescribed by s.288(4B) TCPA 1990.
- •Claimant, unrepresented, attempted to file via CE-file (unsuccessfully), paid an incorrect fee, emailed the ACO for advice, and contacted a GLD lawyer for guidance.
- •Claimant deposited the claim form and bundle in the ACO drop box on 3 November 2022 (after the 2:30 pm collection deadline).
- •Claimant emailed an unsealed claim form to the GLD and attempted electronic filing via the Document Upload Centre (DUC), with unclear success.
- •The ACO received the claim form on 4 November 2022 and noted errors needing amendment.
- •Claimant sent the sealed claim form to the wrong email address, then later to the correct address after the defendant's Part 11 application.
- •The ACO's drop box procedure was not followed correctly, missing the requirement for urgent notification of late submission.
Legal Principles
Applications for leave under s.288 TCPA 1990 must be made within six weeks, starting the day after the decision.
Section 288(4B) TCPA 1990
Time for filing claims under s.288 TCPA 1990 runs from the decision date, not receipt, expiring at midnight on day 42, extended to the next working day if falling on a weekend or holiday.
Croke v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2019] EWCA Civ 54
Filing means delivering a document to the court office; the drop box is not the court office.
CPR 2.3(1)
Service of an unsealed claim form is invalid.
Ideal Shopping Direct Limited v Mastercard Incorporated [2022] EWCA Civ 14
Service on an individual Government lawyer is not valid; it must be via the 'new proceedings' email address.
R (Good Law Project) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2022] EWCA Civ 355
CPR 7.6 principles apply to extending time for service in statutory review claims; relief from sanctions under Denton is not applicable for service failures.
R (Good Law Project) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2022] EWCA Civ 355; Halton DC v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities [2023] EWHC 293 (Admin)
The court's discretion to extend time limits under s.288 TCPA 1990 is very limited.
Croke v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2019] EWCA Civ 54
Outcomes
Defendant's Part 11 application granted.
Claim not filed or served within the prescribed time limit.
Permission to apply for planning statutory review refused.
Claim was filed out of time.
Claimant's application for extension of time to serve refused.
Claimant did not take all reasonable steps to serve in time and did not act promptly.
Claimant's application for relief from sanctions refused.
Claimant's failure to file and serve within time was not exceptional.
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