Southwark 'Quill' tower can proceed without further legal challenge, says Court of Appeal

The judge refused a neighbouring landowner permission to appeal against a High Court ruling which had earlier backed Southwark Council's grant of planning permission for the proposed development.

Neighbouring landowner Zurich Assurance, and its asset manager Threadneedle Property Investments, had argued that the Secretary of State should have directed the Council to require the carrying out of a full environmental impact assessment (EIA) before granting planning permission.

The Secretary of State agreed with Southwark Council's decision that the proposed development was not EIA Development because the site size was less than half a hectare and the proposed development was not likely to have significant effects on the environment, the relevant thresholds for requiring EIA, as set out in the EIA Regulations.

The judge disagreed with the neighbouring landowners' contention that the Secretary of State had failed in his duty to consider exercising his power to direct that the scheme was EIA Development. Had he done so, the Council would have been bound to request an EIA.

The Secretary of State chose not to exercise his power to 'call in' the planning application for his own determination, as requested by the neighbouring landowners, "for reasons which cannot be challenged", the judge said. However, he was not specifically requested to consider exercising his power to direct that the proposal was EIA Development and the Court ruled that the EIA Regulations did not create a duty for him to do so

"This is another in a long line of cases that underlines the fundamental importance of environmental impact assessment to the development planning and consenting processes in the UK," said Iain Gilbey, a planning law expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.

"Whilst the courts are characteristically reluctant to intervene in the decision making process, the delay inherent in challenge proceedings has considerable commercial and financial consequences. Any development project where EIA is an issue requires that clear advice is given throughout the process, to both the applicant and local authority," he said.

Neighbouring landowners have opposed the development, which would replace the 10 storey Capital House building. It is argued that the proposed 31 storey tower would dwarf existing buildings that surround the site and would impact on the setting of surrounding sensitive sites, including the Tower of London.