Status of Objector Important in Planning Decisions

A recent case has illustrated the point that the status of an objector to a planning application is of importance to the decision. The case dealt with a planning application for a restaurant in Camden which was on one side of a street down the middle of which ran the boundary between Camden and Westminster Councils.

Camden had given planning permission after a planning meeting at which they had been told incorrectly that Westminster Council had raised no objection to the application. However, Westminster had objected, on the basis of the impact the restaurant would have on the amenity of the area and on traffic. Camden had, it seems, mislaid the papers.

Camden Council argued that it had considered the same issues and had decided the restaurant was acceptable and they concluded that Westminster’s objections would not have made a difference. However, the court disagreed, believing that the members may well have taken a different view had they been aware of the objections of the neighbouring Council’s planning and highways departments.