Sadly, we have learned that we have been unsuccessful in our High Court hearing seeking leave to proceed to a Judicial Review regarding Cornwall Council’s decision to approve a 22 house, development at Winstowe Terrace.  We are naturally disappointed at this decision and we continue to believe that the approval is contrary to our adopted Neighbourhood Plan.  We will be carrying out an urgent review of our Plan to ensure that it will have effective weight in future planning applications.

We hope to have the opportunity to discuss issues raised by this case with Cornwall Council.  The fact that Crantock’s plan had passed through all levels of scrutiny, including an Independent Reviewer, without any concerns being raised about our policies demonstrates a need for further clarification of the Neighbourhood Planning process.

We would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank-you to everybody who has supported our challenge to this planning issue.  The community spirit and the levels of financial contributions from individuals have been overwhelming.  We will have to continue some fund-raising in order to clear the final cost settlements now that our case has been closed.

On 13 December, Crantock Parish Council will present the reasons for requesting a Judicial Review to a judge in open court at the Royal Courts of Justice. 

As a brief reminder, our case is based on:

• Cornwall Council’s decision to approve a 22 house, affordable led  rural exception site, is contrary to our adopted Neighbourhood Plan.  
• The planning officer’s presentation to the planning committee (that approved the development by the narrowest of margins, 8 to 7) contained factually incorrect statements relating to the already approved development, Pentire Green.  These statements were material to the decision.  
• It is not accepted that Cornwall Council’s interpretation of the term “local need” within the context of a Neighbourhood Plan has the same meaning as it does within the overall Cornwall Local Plan. 

Clearly, the outcome of this case has implications for all planning applications and Neighbourhood Plans, across Cornwall and England. 

Crantock believes that it is imperative that the High Court rules on this case to establish Case Law for future affordable led, rural exception site, applications.

We have been heartened by the levels of financial support that we have received and we will need further donations to allow us to continue this important fight to uphold the principles of local democracy.  Donations can be pledged at https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/save-beautiful-crantock/ or through our Parish Clerk, [email protected]

Additional notes for the bases of our case:

• The Crantock Neighbourhood Plan is development-focussed with an expansion for Crantock housing of 20% (against a Cornwall average target of 15%) and includes delivering 45 affordable houses to satisfy an existing need for 30.
• The planning approval, for Pentire Green, was well within its term of validity and the development was not subject to a failed marketing campaign. The campaign was on-going and now been completed successfully.  Importantly, in terms of the National Planning Policy Framework (July 2018), the development meets all criteria for a “deliverable” site.
• Throughout the development of the Neighbourhood Plan, Cornwall Council officers made clear that, in the context of a Neighbourhood Plan, “local” referred to the specific needs of Crantock. Further, all Government and Cornwall Council planning documents make reference to Neighbourhood Plans and Rural Exception Sites as being aimed at the specific communities within the region identified by the Plan.

On 5 November Crantock Parish Council was advised that the Planning Court, had refused our application for permission to apply for Judicial Review.  The judge looked at the Grounds that we had submitted and cited reasons as follows:  

• In respect of Ground 1 (Planning Committee was significantly misled), the judge considered that the error that was made in respect of the date for the planning approval of Pentire Green was not material. He referred to the substantial period that had elapsed since planning permission was granted and the failed marketing campaign.  
•  In respect of Grounds 2 (Cornwall misunderstood its own policy and/or the development did not comply with the Local Plan) and 3 (Development did not comply with the NDP), the judge's view was that the meaning of the term “local needs” is not limited to the needs of a particular settlement since such a meaning would run counter to meeting the affordable housing needs of Cornwall as a whole.  The fact that the Crantock Neighbourhood Plan Policy H2 is consistent with Cornwall Local Plan Policy 9 means that the interpretation of “local needs” for the purpose of Policy 9 must apply equally to Policy H2.  It was also noted Cornwall Council was exercising planning judgement in granting permission on the basis that the development would meet the housing needs in Crantock in the absence of any completed developments and on the basis that Pentire Green was “stalled”.

Crantock Parish Council is concerned that the judgement does not appear to have taken into account supplementary evidence that was submitted relating to the on-going marketing campaign for Pentire Green. The judge's decision only refers to the evidence submitted by Cornwall Council and not to the later evidence submitted by the Parish Council. Further, the Council disagrees with the opinion that the term “local needs” has the same meaning in both the Cornwall Local Plan and a Neighbourhood Plan.  Indeed, the references to “local needs” within the Cornwall Local Plan relating to both Policies 8 (Affordable Housing) and 9 (Rural Exception Sites) are couched in terms that are more readily interpreted as meaning the “specific community”.  This was the definition agreed between Crantock Neighbourhood Plan team and Cornwall Council officers during the development of the Plan.

As a result of our concerns, Crantock Parish Council has submitted papers to request an open court hearing to reconsider this case.  We believe that the reasons given for refusing our application are incorrect and cover key issues relating to the content of a Neighbourhood Plan that require discussion and clarification.

Crantock Parish Council has been overwhelmed with the support, both financial and practical, that has been received from individuals, organisations and fellow councils.  This case is hugely important to Crantock and our adopted Neighbourhood Plan and we have invested heavily in time, resource and effort in getting to this stage. In our opinion the preliminary assessment is flawed and requires a more thorough examination in open court. We also believe that the outcome from this case is of national importance and should continue in order to establish Case Law and clarify the role of Neighbourhood Plans in the planning process.

Pursuing this case will cost Crantock more time, money and effort and we would welcome any contributions from individuals and organisations that support our stance on this very important planning issue.

Phase 1 of the Judicial Review process has now been completed and paid for thanks to many generous donations.  The application for Judicial Review of Cornwall Council's decision has been prepared and lodged with the High Court. A judge will review whether the application has merit, in light of any brief submissions in defence from Cornwall Council or the Interested Parties, before confirming whether the matter will proceed to Phase 2. We are confident that we will be proceeding to Phase 2.

Phase 2 will involve substantive submissions from our legal team who are asking the Court to quash the planning permission. Currently we expect Cornwall Council and the two interested parties to defend the planning permission. Phase 2 will culminate in a judgement following a hearing in court.

This involves a large amount of preparation in the lead up to the hearing. In order to pursue this action to its conclusion we need to raise further funds and have therefore increased our target.  Should we exceed our target, it is our intention to retain any surplus for use in future planning actions.