Whilst all political parties and residents welcomed the defeat of Peel Holdings over its plans to build six hundred, and a further 165, homes at Broadoak in the Worsley Greenway, Salford City Council has been left with legal bills 'in excess of £400,000'.
The eight year battle, which included planning applications twice refused by the Council, plus various Peel appeals, inquiries and reviews dismissed by various Secretaries of State and judges, culminated in a Court of Appeal decision this month to finally see off the developer behemoth.*
However, costs (at two thirds of the total) were awarded to the Government, the joint respondent in the case - which was between Peel Investments (North) Limited and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government; and Salford City Council..
At yesterday's full meeting of the Council, Councillor Derek Antrobus, Lead Member for Planning and Sustainable Development, asked the City Mayor whether compensation could be claimed from the Government, "given that this was a fault of the Government in drafting the NPPF [National Planning Policy Framework]".
Peel had argued, amongst other complicated legal arguments, that, via the NPPF, housing supply should take precedence in the city before protection for green areas but the Court of Appeal dismissed the case.
Conservative Councillor Karen Garrido, a chair of RAID (Residents Against Inappropriate Development) which led the residents' fight, thanked everyone involved in the eight year fight and said she was "overjoyed" with the decision, while agreeing that the Council should write to the Government asking it to look at the costs.
The City Mayor said he would write to the Government seeking to recoup the costs, while supplying councillors with a full breakdown and timeline of expenses incurred during the legal battle...
* For a full background see previous Salford Star article and follow the links – click here
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