Martin Partington: Spotlight on the Justice System

As part of the changes to Judicial Review being made by Government, planning cases now go to the Planning Court.

From April 2014, the Planning Court deals with all judicial reviews and statutory challenges involving planning matters, including appeals and applications relating to enforcement decisions, planning permission, compulsory purchase orders and highways and other rights of way. It forms part of the Administrative Court but is distinct from it. Cases can start at the following locations:

• The Royal Courts of Justice
• Birmingham Civil Justice Centre
• Cardiff Civil Justice Centre
• Leeds Combined Court
• Manchester Civil Justice Centre

Planning Court cases are subject to tighter time limits than Administrative Court cases:

• applications for permission to apply for judicial review are to be determined within three weeks of the expiry of the time limit for filing of the acknowledgment of service;
• oral renewals of applications for permission to apply for judicial review are to be heard within one month of receipt of request for renewal;
• applications for permission under section 289 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 are to be determined within one month of issue;
• substantive statutory applications, including applications under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, are to be heard within six months of issue; and
• judicial reviews are to be heard within ten weeks of the expiry of the period for the submission of detailed grounds by the defendant or any other party.

Specialist judges, with planning expertise, sit in the Planning Court.

It is hoped that these changes will ensure that these changes will reduce the delay that can sometimes effect planning decisions.

For further detail see https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/rcj-rolls-building/administrative-court/the-planning-court