Judge defers ruling on Carlisle man’s airport challenge
took his challenge to the scheme to the High Court in London.
planning permission for a freight storage and distribution facility at the Crosby-on-Eden
airfield.
in addition to make plans for ‘airside’ development, including work on the runway
and a passenger terminal.
for the work – which is expected to create 85 new full-time jobs – was "unlawful"
and should be overturned.
from how it was made.
on its expected environmental impact based solely on the storage and distribution
facility.
without the ‘airside’ work, that did not fulfil obligations relating to environmental
considerations, he added.
basis of the environmental information which considered only the likely effects
on the environment of the non-airside development was unlawful."
application for a
new runway and integrated terminal and massive regional freight storage and distribution
centre for Eddie Stobart road haulage, to be built on a greenfield site. In
April 2008 Carlisle City Council (CCC) imposed various conditions. By summer
2008, and once the Government Office for the North West (GONW) called in the application,
Stobart Air withdraw it. Later in 2008 a second application was submitted, for
landside development only, which comes with a draft s106 agreement that binds
StobartAir to resurfacing the existing runway to increase its strength. Included
also is the provision to convert as yet empty office space to a terminal building,
all under Permitted Development rights. The accompanying Environmental Impact
Assessment does not assess any of the proposed airside works. The Development
Control committee then passed the plans despite warnings of potential judicial
review from objectors.
A local farmer, Gordon Brown, applied to Newcastle High Court for leave to get
a Judicial Review.
This was refused in July. The basis of the case is that the airside works are
not environmentally
assessed, the matter has not been referred to GONW as a departure and that CCC
misrepresented their barrister’s advice. On 28th September, Gordon had a hearing
in the High Court in London, Royal Courts of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division,
and the judge has now deferred his judgement. This is still awaited. Gordon’s
father and three other tenant farmers have been given Notice to Quit the site
(where they have been since 1910).
Meanwhile, the airport has hopes of getting passenger flights started in late
2010 or 2011.