Victory in landmark legal case
Published: 1 February 2025
Campaign for National Parks has played a crucial role in securing a vital victory for National Parks and National Landscapes after Secretary of State Angela Raynor admitted “an error in law” in planning test case.
Campaign for National Parks was recently granted permission from the High Court to intervene in a judicial review, on the grounds that this case will set an important national precedent for all National Parks and National Landscapes (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty / AONBs).
A local charity, Dedham Vale Society, launched judicial review proceedings against the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner, over the decision to approve the development of a significant car park extension, without observing a new legal duty to “conserve and enhance” National Parks and National Landscapes. Following submission of our legal evidence in January, Government lawyers admitted defeat, just weeks before the case was due in the High Court. In a Consent Order filed with the High Court, Government lawyers said:
“…the Secretary of State accepts that the failure to apply the statutory duty to seek to further the purposes of the National Landscape when making the screening decision constitutes an error of law and the outcome might have been different had it been applied. ” – Consent order
Government admitted it had acted illegally when deciding on a development in Dedham Vale National Landscape without applying the statutory duty to seek to further the National Landscape. This was one of the first cases to consider this duty, which came about after decades of us campaigning for change and culminated with a new duty binding all public bodies in England to take action to conserve and enhance National Parks and National Landscapes.
The case sets a critical precedent for all of England’s 10 National Parks and 34 National Landscapes, making clear that all public bodies must comply with the law to further conservation and enhancement of these areas.
Since the change in law we’ve seen countless examples of where this change has been ignored or disregarded, and the latest announcements from Government to block legal challenges to planning decisions for major infrastructure projects and to prioritise growth at the expense of nature, climate and the countryside indicate there will be many more. Winning this case is incredibly significant as it sends a clear message to public bodies and Government that they must uphold the law and prioritise Protected Landscapes or there will be consequences.
Dr Rose O’Neill, Chief ExecutiveThis is a hugely significant win. For too long, Government bodies, such as Ofwat, the Planning Inspectorate and National Highways, have turned a blind eye; the Secretary of State’s admission that this is unlawful paves the way for all others to wake up and take action.
The ability of groups like ours to take judicial review is essential to safeguarding this country’s most cherished natural assets. This whole case could have been avoided if Government and developers complied with the law in the first place.
This is the first time in over 20 years that we’ve decided to take legal action and thanks to our supporters’ donations we were able to intervene and be a voice for National Parks in England.
We need your support
We may have won the battle, but we haven't won the war as there's still many examples of public bodies ignoring the duty, from road construction to water pollution. Winning this case shows that we can and must continue to fight for National Parks, especially in the face of the climate and nature crisis, but the costs are high, and our legal fighting fund is empty. Please enable us to continue to fund legal action where it is needed and speak up for our Parks. Donate to our legal fighting fund today.