Dilly Lane

Case involving the Habitats Regulations, which may mean that where mitigation with respect to European sites is incorporated into the design of the development, an appropriate assessment can be avoided.

A court case involving the Habitats Regulations was brought by Hart District Council against Barratt Homes (Southern Counties) and Luckmore Ltd.

The companies proposed to develop 170 new homes on land off Dilly Lane, Hartley Wintney in Hampshire. This green-field site was located within 5km of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area, a European Site protected under the Habitats Regulations. The development proposal included the provision of open space, known as Suitable Alternative Green Space (SANG), which was designed to attract dog walkers and other recreational activity away from the heaths and into the open space. The reason for this was to prevent impacts on nesting birds on the heaths as a result of disturbance from people and their animals.

The proponents of the scheme argued that the provision of Suitable Alternative Green Space meant that the development proposals were unlikely to have a significant effect on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area and therefore an appropriate assessment under the Habitats Regulations was not required. Planning permission was declined by Hart District Council and then rejected by a government planning inspector following a public inquiry in December 2006. However, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government went against the planning inspector and granted planning permission for the scheme. This in turn was subject to judicial review, with the outcome that the planning permission was upheld. The case may mean that where mitigation with respect to European sites is incorporated into the design of the development, an appropriate assessment can be avoided.