Planning and Nuisance

Background

Complaints about weekend disturbance arise out of ambiguously worded restrictions on planning permission for an industrial process. Alive to the ambiguity, the council is reluctant to take enforcement action.

Outcome

The threat of judicial review from neighbours is avoided by mediation at which a voluntary protocol on hours is agreed, and the developer is encouraged to submit a section 73 variation application on those terms. An expensive judicial review is avoided, and the council’s blushes are spared.