Claim for judicial review of new facilities at Newbury Rugby Club dismissed

On 16 March 2022, West Berkshire Council granted planning permission for a new artificial grass pitch, sports pavilion and car parking at Newbury Rugby Club. In a judgment handed down on 3 February 2023, His Honour Judge Jarman KC (sitting as a Judge of the High Court) dismissed a claim for judicial review against that grant of permission. The claimant, a local resident, argued that the Council’s officers had materially misled the planning committee by saying that the application should be treated as a stand-alone proposal with no formal link to the future of a football ground known as the Faraday Road Stadium. The Council has aspirations to re-develop the Faraday Road Stadium as part of a large mixed-use regeneration scheme. According to the judge, members were lawfully advised that, for the purposes of applying relevant local and national policy restricting the loss of recreational facilities, the proposed development did not involve the loss of the facilities at the Faraday Road Stadium, regardless of what the Council’s future intentions for the site may be. The judgment is available here. Matthew Fraser appeared for West Berkshire Council.