Inner House case concerning a planning appeal relating to a site on Seafield Road in Blackburn. Hallam applied for planning permission in principle for the construction of a residential development of approximately 120 houses. West Lothian Council refused planning permission for the development and an appeal to the Scottish Ministers by Hallam was also refused by the reporter appointed to determine it.  Hallam appealed to the Court of Session against the reporter’s decision.

There were two main issues at the centre of the appeal:

• whether there was a deficiency in the supply of land for new housing and whether the proposed development would help make good any such deficiency; and
• whether there was adequate school accommodation for children from the proposed development.

The reporter had found that the supply of effective housing land in West Lothian and in the area local to the appeal site was “adequate to meet current market demand for new houses” and thus the proposed development was not justified in terms of maintaining a five years’ supply of effective housing land.   The reporter also concluded that there was a lack of education capacity at Bathgate Academy and St Kentigern’s Academy to accommodate children from the proposed development meaning that the development did not comply with the relevant strategic development plan.

The Inner House found that the reporter had been entitled to conclude that insufficient capacity was available in local secondary schools to support the proposed development and, consequently, that planning permission for the development would not comply with the strategic development plan. That conclusion had been sufficient to allow the reporter to refuse Hallam’s appeal. However, the Inner House also noted that the reporter’s conclusion with regard to the supply of housing land had been erroneous and that the court would have allowed the appeal if it had not been for the lack of education provision.

The full judgement is available from Scottish Courts here.

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