Second round in legal battle over new development
Good grounds for appeal, say solicitors for parish council
Headcorn has lost the first round in its legal battle with Maidstone council over the borough’s decision to grant planning permission for a development at Hazelpits in the village.
But it has come out fighting in the second round.
The parish council went to the High Court to seek permission for a Judicial Review of the borough’s decision to grant permission for 220 homes on the Ulcombe Road/Mill Bank area. It claimed the borough had not followed due process in reaching its decision.
After a hearing in February, the court declined to grant permission for a review, but the parish’s legal advisers have said there were good grounds to appeal that decision.
So far the parish has incurred costs of £17,000 from the first hearing, including covering £5,500 of the borough’s legal costs, but members heard solicitors had agreed to fight the next stage on a no-win, no-fee basis. There would be no requirement to cover the borough’s costs at appeal, so the extra expense was likely to be in engaging a barrister – around £1,500.
A victory would reduce the expense so far incurred, because the parish would no longer be obliged to meet the borough’s costs.
However, if the appeal was successful, and a full judicial review hearing followed, that could cost in the region of £30,000.
As any appeal has to be lodged within seven days, there wasn’t time to specifically consult the village.
The council voted by seven votes to nil, with one abstention, to proceed to appeal.
The clerk, Caroline Carmichael, said: “The council feels our villagers are strongly behind it, and in addition, we have already received a number of private donations from villagers towards the costs.”
A spokesman for Maidstone council said: “As legal proceedings are active, it would be inappropriate for us to comment.”