The information sought is as follows:
(1) All costs incurred by the Council in each financial year from 2014/2015 to 2018/2019 in either defending or bringing a claim for Judicial Review in respect of Planning cases including any external professional fees incurred.
For the purposes of this piece of research the definition of Planning cases means:
(i) Defending the grant of Planning Permission;
(ii) Defending a challenge to the Local Plan;
(iii) Defending a decision regarding Planning Enforcement, eg serving a Breach of Condition Notice or a decision not to enforce;
(iv) Bringing a claim for Judicial Review against another public authority in respect of a Planning issue;
(v) Defending Council decisions regarding Rights of Way;
(vi) Defending Council decisions regarding Town and Village Greens.
Please identify costs incurred by way of the categories listed above. To the extent the information is available, please also provide internal costs incurred by the Council in respect of each case and please identify those costs separately from the legal costs incurred.
No external costs and we do not have a record of the internal costs incurred
(2) All costs incurred (including any external professional fees) incurred by the Council in each financial year from 2014/2015 to 2018/2019 in all Planning Appeals for those years, whether they were by Written Representations, Hearing or by Public Inquiry. Please include information where a costs award was made by the Inspector together with the Planning Appeal reference and the year of the decision.
To the extent the information is available, please also provide internal costs incurred by the Council in respect of each case and please identify those costs separately from the legal costs incurred.
On one matter, £8870.00 external costs were incurred and we do not have a record of the internal costs incurred.
Was the council successful in defending the applications for Judicial Review? Were any of the planning appeals subject to a costs award and if so were they in favour of the council or appellant and what costs were paid.
The matter was settled out of court and no order for costs was made.