R (on the application of Wright) (Respondent) v Resilient Energy Severndale Ltd and Forest of Dean District Council (Appellants)

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Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2018/0007

Parties

Appellant(s)

1) Resilient Energy Severndale Ltd

2) Forest of Dean District Council

Respondent(s)

Respondent Peter Wrigh

Issue

Whether, on an application for planning permission for a wind turbine proposed to be undertaken by a community benefit society, the distribution to the local community of a community benefit fund derived from the operation of the turbine is, in the circumstances of the case, a material planning consideration which the council could lawfully take into account when considering whether to grant planning permission.

Facts

The first appellant was granted planning permission for a single, community-scale wind turbine at Severndale Farm in Gloucestershire by the Forest of Dean District Council (the second appellant) on 30 September 2015. The council took into account in its determination of the planning application the proposal by the first appellant to distribute funds derived from the operation of the turbine to the local community through a community benefit society. The grant of permission was challenged by a claim for judicial review brought by the respondent, a local resident, and was quashed in the High Court on the ground that the council had unlawfully taken into account a matter which was not a material planning consideration.