Inner House case considering an appeal from the Outer House in which a residents group challenged decisions made by East Renfrewshire Council (1) to grant planning permission and (2) to confirm fulfilment of a planning condition relating to drainage, in respect of a proposed development at Ayr Road in Newton Mearns.

The residents group had applied for a protective costs order (which puts a cap on a party’s liability for the expenses of the court action.) Protective costs orders can be granted where the issues raised are of general public importance and where the applicant has no private interest in the outcome of the case. However, in the Outer House, Lord Tyre refused the application on the basis that the issue was one of local community interest rather than general public importance.

The Inner House refused the appeal. After noting that the residents group could fairly be characterised as an association of local residents whose primary objective was the safeguarding of their respective private interests, the court came to the conclusion that the issue was not one of general public importance:

“What is challenged, in the sense of being sought to be reduced, is a planning permission for a relatively modest development. Any increased risk of flooding is of importance to all the individuals who fear that their properties may be affected. In a sense it is true to say… that flooding is a matter of public concern and that in the event of an incident of flooding public services are engaged. None of that makes what is in issue here a matter of general public importance. The interests involved are predominantly local and predominantly private. There may be applications for judicial review where the issues raised are at once local and yet of general public interest. This is not such an application.”

The full judgement is available from Scottish Courts here.

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