New roads = more carbon emissions, more pollution, more habitat loss. Let's stop it together!

I am a resident of Hastings, fundraising to bring a judicial review of Hastings Council's decision to grant planning permission for a new road across the middle of one of our local wildlife sites. At a time when we are facing catastrophic climate change as well as a massive loss of biodiversity, building new roads in this manner is unsustainable and irresponsible.

Case background

Despite serious concerns regarding air pollution, Hastings Council has granted permission to build a new £15m road in the town - one of a series of related roads, including the £124m Bexhill-Hastings Link Road.  The Queensway Gateway road is being developed by local 'regeneration' company, Seachange Sussex. It would run through the middle of the Hollington Valley Local Wildlife Site which according to its designation report:

• is a 'major wildlife corridor and one of the best wildlife habitats' in Hastings;

• includes a meadow which 'represents one of the few remaining and certainly one of the best examples of this habitat type, with associated habitat complexes, left in the Borough';

•  is 'an invaluable and irreplaceable habitat of excellent quality and an asset for the people of Hastings to enjoy.’

According to the planning application, the primary purpose of the road is to allow Seachange Sussex to build a business park, which would cover almost the entire wildlife site.

Planning history

In 2014, a campaign sprang up to save Hollington Valley, with over 500 people objecting to the planning application, but it was passed in February 2015. Shortly afterwards, I brought a legal challenge, citing figures which showed that emissions from the road would exceed critical air pollution levels. Hastings Council and the developer agreed that the decision it had taken was unlawful and that the Court should quash the planning permission.

In November 2015, Seachange Sussex submitted revised traffic and air quality documents, claiming that the ones in the original application had 'methodological errors', but that those had been corrected and the levels of air pollution were now lawful. Despite over 800 objections, Hastings Council passed the planning application for a second time.

I recently applied for permission to bring a second judicial review as I believe there are still very serious and unresolved issues with air pollution, as well as habitat destruction and carbon emissions.  Although the court did not grant permission to proceed based on my lawyer's written submission, the application for permission will now be considered by a Judge at an oral hearing - this is common in the case of applications for judicial review.

Air pollution

A recent report from the Royal College of Physicians says that an estimated 40,000 people are killed by air pollution in the UK each year. In April 2015, in a case brought by environmental law firm Client Earth, the UK Supreme Court ordered the British government to take 'immediate action' on air pollution,but the government has failed to do so and now faces a new legal challenge.

Climate change

Domestic transport emissions already account for around a quarter of the UK's carbon emissions. Despite this, the government plans to spend over £15 billion over the next five years on over 100 major new road schemes – this does not include smaller schemes, such as the Queensway Gateway road, promoted by local authorities. 

There is ample evidence that building new roads actually creates more traffic - as the new road brings (at least temporarily) easier driving conditions, so more people choose to drive. In order to tackle climate change, we need to stop building new roads and instead invest money in public transport, cycling and walking, and in creating communities and built environments that put the needs of people before the needs of the internal combustion engine.

Biodiversity and species loss

The 2013 State of Nature report assessed over 3,000 animal and plant species in the UK. It found that over the past 50 years, 60% of the species studied had declined. Of the most vulnerable species, overall numbers had declined by 77% in the past 40 years, 'with little signs of recovery'. Climate change and habitat loss are two key reasons for these declines. Building new roads destroys precious habitats and contributes to species loss.

Dr Paul Stookes of law firm, Richard Buxton Environmental & Public Law Solicitors, explained that:

 "Hastings Council has - once again - failed to take account of the full impact of the air pollution which is likely to arise from this development. Moreover, it has failed to properly have regard to the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The matter will now proceed to a permission hearing in the High Court."

Fundraising goals

In order to proceed with a second legal action against Hastings Council and SeaChange Sussex, I'm aiming to raise a community contribution of £2,500 towards the costs of the proceedings, with a stretch goal of £10,000.  This is not just a local issue: it's about climate change and biodiversity and air pollution, issues which affect all of us and generations to come. I believe that local authorities must be held to account for their actions and be challenged on decisions which have potentially destructive and dangerous impacts on the environment and human health.

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About the claimant

My name is Gabriel Carlyle and I live in Hastings. I am extremely concerned about the climate change, air pollution and biodiversity impacts of the many new roads which have been built, or are planned, in and around Hastings over the past few years. As a society, we need to urgently move away from car-based transport and towards low carbon, sustainable transport. We also need to protect - and work to expand - our rapidly diminishing green spaces.

Fast facts

An order that the planning permission for the Queensway Gateway road in Hastings was granted unlawfully and should be quashed An application for judicial review of the planning decision has been made, and we are waiting to see if permission to proceed to JR will be granted Dr Paul Stookes, Richard Buxton Environmental and Public Law Solicitors acting on behalf of a local resident