The judicial review of the government's changes to the use classes order and new permitted development rights was recently dismissed. The High Court ruled that the changes had been legally enacted, a judgment which Rights: Community: Action is seeking permission to appeal. Although this appeal is unlikely to be successful, until any appeal is resolved, there remains uncertainty around the ability to rely on these new permitted development rights and use classes.
A recent Court of Appeal case is the latest in a series of recent planning law cases to be decided against the developer. The courts seem to be moving towards a simpler but less flexible planning system. This is in contrast to the government's recent changes intended to promote flexibility in the planning system.