The Society is delighted that the Farm Terrace campaign group in Watford were victorious in the Judicial Review that they brought against the latest decision to dispose of their allotment site.
The group are to be applauded for all their hard work and application. The support they have amassed around the UK is an illustration of the strength of feeling around this issue amongst allotment holders and others, who appreciate the benefits of local sites to their communities.
We anticipate that the Judicial Review ruling will ensure that, in future, councils are open and transparent about their plans when they apply to dispose of allotment sites; this includes any subsequent applications by Watford Council.
Information below taken from website of Deighton Pierce Glynn Solicitors
Farm Terrace Allotment allotments saved by judicial review!
After a long-running battle, the High Court has saved Farm Terrace allotments from developers. In a judgment handed down by Mr Justice Ouseley on Friday 31 October 2014, Eric Pickles’s decision to allow Watford Council to build on the allotment site was quashed.
The case was brought by 3 plot-holders who face eviction to make way for housing. The site cannot be built on without the Secretary of State’s consent, and there are strict criteria that have to be met before Councils are given the all clear. In this case consent was granted even though the criteria were not met, because everyone agrees that the site is not ‘surplus to requirements’. Consent was nonetheless granted because, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, building on the allotments is in the public interest. The campaigners and many allotment holders and gardeners around the country disagreed and challenged the decision. During the litigation the Council refused to disclose some key information about how the scheme had changed and what impact that had on it, so the plotholders had to make two formal applications for ‘specific disclosure’ to ensure that the documents were made available. Those documents showed that the development had changed significantly after the Council’s application for the Secretary of State’s consent had been submitted, but the Council failed to inform the Secretary of State of this. The judge found that this meant that the Secretary of State‘s decision was made without him knowing all the relevant facts, and so it could not stand.
Andrew Moore, one of the Claimants, said today:
“We are absolutely thrilled with this decision and feel we have been fully vindicated in our campaign to save our beloved allotments that have served the community of West Watford and its residents since 1896. Because of this monumental decision, we now hope that all central government will take extra care when deciding on future applications to close Allotment sites throughout the country. We wish to thank our fantastic legal team who truly believed that an injustice had been done in our case and to everyone from allotment associations, the national allotment society, allotment tenants and supporters from all over the UK and internationally who donated to our fighting fund. This is a massive victory, not just for allotment holders but also for the average person who feels let down by their local councils and government. It shows that it is possible to fight injustice and it is possible to win.”
Adam Hundt, of Deighton Pierce Glynn Solicitors, who represent the Claimants, said:
“The judge found that the council withheld potentially crucial information from the Secretary of State. The council fought tooth and nail to avoid disclosing the information, but were eventually forced to do so by indefatigable allotment holders and lawyers who were willing to go out on a limb for them so that the court knew the truth. Hopefully this judgment will ensure that councils can't pull the wool over the government's eyes and expect to get away with it, and help ensure allotments continue to be protected from development for generations to come.”
Further details can be accessed on the campaigners’ website . The judgment can be read here.
The allotment holders are represented by Adam Hundt of Deighton Pierce Glynn and Jason Coppel QC and Hannah Slarks, both of 11 King’s Bench Walk.
