Bramley Solar Farm Residents Group v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities & Ors
[2023] EWHC 2842 (Admin)
Ian Galloway, R (on the application of) v Durham County Council
21 February 2024
[2024] EWHC 367 (Admin)
High Court
A judge ruled that a council wrongly approved a large solar farm. The council didn't check if the farm was bigger than necessary, and that was a big mistake. The judge cancelled the approval so the council can properly check the size.
Key Facts
- •Judicial review of planning permission granted for a solar farm development.
- •The development's capacity was a central issue, specifically whether it exceeded the 50MW statutory threshold for local planning authority approval.
- •Two applications were made: one for full planning permission and a subsequent non-material amendment (NMA).
- •The claimant argued the planning permission approved a solar farm exceeding the 50MW capacity threshold, requiring national, not local, approval.
- •The claimant also argued that the approved footprint of the solar farm was larger than necessary, a material consideration overlooked by the council.
Legal Principles
Statutory Capacity Threshold for solar farm developments.
Planning Act 2008, s.15(2)(c)
Interpretation of planning conditions, particularly 'conformity' and 'details-approval' conditions.
R (Swire) v Canterbury City Council [2022] EWHC 390 (Admin), R (Milne-Skillman) v Horsham District Council [2023] EWHC 2919 (Admin)
Standard of review for judicial review of planning decisions – unreasonableness.
R (Barr) v North Somerset Council [2015] EWHC 1735 (Admin)
Duty of candid disclosure in planning proceedings.
None explicitly cited, but derived from general principles of open justice.
Non-material amendment (NMA) under Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s.96A.
Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s.96A
Outcomes
Planning permission quashed.
The council failed to consider the material consideration of whether the approved solar farm's size was larger than necessary to achieve a lawful capacity (below 50MW).
Non-material amendment quashed.
The NMA was based on an incorrect interpretation of the planning permission and did not cure the initial unlawfulness.
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