Our Community
Our work to give you a say in what your community could be
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
The right to plan as if climate change matters
Last year we won our Salt Cross Garden Village case in the High Court . This was an unusual success in climate litigation, upholding efforts to reach net zero in the face of regressive acts by the then government.
The Government issued a ‘Written Ministerial Statement’ (a policy) in England to prevent local government from having the best climate change policies possible in their local plans in December 2023. They did this while failing the very first test set by the Environment Act 2021, which requires Ministers to consider the environmental impact of the policies they make. If this policy is allowed to stand, there are around 1 million future homes at risk of not being zero carbon.
The Government admitted it had not complied with the duty to consider the environment impact of the policy. Despite support from over seventy local authorities, developers who are leading the way, and local communities, the Government has still not changed the policy.
We challenged the WMS before Mrs Justice Lieven, but she allowed the government its retrospective environmental analysis and agreed with the Government that it can restrict local plans from being too ambitious on climate.
We're facing a climate and nature crisis. But without this appeal, all policy made by Ministers in whatever department, will not really have to think about environmental principles in a way that makes a difference.
We’ve been granted permission to appeal the decision of Mrs Justice Lieven. Lord Justice Lewison granting permission commented that both grounds raise important issues and have sufficient prospects of success to merit full consideration by the Court. Also recognising the importance of the case, Lewison LJ granted permission to the Office of Environmental Protection to intervene by oral submissions and to Green Alliance to intervene in writing.
We're facing a climate and nature crisis. But without this appeal, all policy made by Ministers in whatever department, will not really have to think about environmental principles in a way that makes a difference.
It isn't right that local plans that want to ensure that the homes for all of us are built to be cheap and energy efficient to run and fit for the future are being prevented by central Government, and it isn't right that the Government are defending their approach to an environmental duty that means it isn't worth the paper it is written on.
We are represented by some of the best lawyers in this field: Ricardo Gama at Leigh Day and counsel Alex Goodman KC and Alex Shattock at Landmark Chambers.
What are we doing and what do we need?
We need to fund our appeal to overturn the Government's policy to stop local government planning for climate change and to strengthen a hugely important environmental duty on Ministers. Please donate to and share our crowdjustice funding page.
25 September 2024 - Joint Statement on Planning and Climate Change
Leading the way: local plan for zero carbon
Salt Cross Garden Village is set to be a development in West Oxfordshire, which would include more than 2,000 new homes, a new science business park and its own facilities, schools, community resources and employment opportunities. West Oxfordshire District Council’s plans for the development were that it be carbon net-zero and 100% powered by on-site renewables.
However in a report in March 2023, planning inspectors scuppered the project by – bafflingly - stating that the ambitions of the project were too high and ‘prescriptive’, and conflicted with national energy efficiency policy, as outlined in a 2015 ministerial statement.
We challenged this in the courts - and in February 2024 we won the case in the High Court. The plan will now be re-examined.
Other local authorities with zero carbon local plans include Cornwall [link needed].
Our right to grow
We are using our legal knowledge to support the Incredible Edible movement in asking for a ‘right to grow’, using unloved public land and turning them into vegetable gardens and orchards. We commissioned a legal opinion available here to consider the different options available in law to make it possible for communities to access land for cultivation. Growing is great for our health and wellbeing, for the environment and for our communities.
You can find out more by contacting Incredible Edible here.
The right to good planning
The Conservative Government changed the rules on permitted development – so as there is no planning application submitted, so there is no chance for you to have a say, and democratic consent isn’t needed. It also means that local plans don’t matter in these approvals. The Government failed to think about the cost to the public purse (there is no money that comes in to pay for all the things people need with a home, like health and education) nor did they ensure that there were windows in these homes, or that children had the space to play outside - some of these homes are only 11 sqm.
In 2020, we challenged the introduction of these permitted development rights after there had been no proper consultation in our view, or consideration of the impacts. After being granted leave to appeal the original decision, the Court of Appeal ruled that the sweeping changes were lawful. Revisit the case and access all the legal documents here. This situation must be changed in the upcoming planning bill in parliament.
If you want to find out more about changing national legislation on planning in England, contact us.