OPINION

by Matthew Horton Q.C.

"In my opinion the report by the Head of Planning does not properly inform members of the policies relating to the principle of permitting the proposed development nor of the law relating to the account that should be taken of the acknowledged harm to the setting of the listed buildings. Accordingly, a decision to grant permission in reliance on the report would be susceptible to judicial review."    

​ - Matthew Horton Q.C.

Please note that 'Matthew Horton Q.C. Opinion of the Officer’s Report' published in 22 June 2015. Following a borough-wide crowd-funding exercise, local residents paid a substantial amount of money to obtain this advice on the legality of Officer’s Report recommending permission be granted at the 23rd June Committee Meeting. As we all know, at 11th hour St George deferred and meeting cancelled. Following the publication of the Officers' updated report (28th October 2015) we have had an opportunity to study it, which also recommends that the development be permitted. It was very disappointing to read that most of the Q.C’s observations in June were still very much relevant to this second report. With the permission of Matthew Horton QC, we are providing this for your information.

You can download the full Opinion here

​Page updated on 30 Oct 2015