Unitary Update: East Devon Judicial Review

Friday, January 09, 2009

A High Court judgement in response to a judicial review sought by East Devon District Council has largely found in favour of the Boundary Committee.

Mr Justice Cranston dismissed East Devon's grounds with the exception of whether the Committee should consult on more than one unitary proposal and, if it did, whether it should assess if such combined proposals meet the Government's five criteria – affordability, value for money, neighbourhood empowerment, strategic leadership and a broad cross section of support -- "in aggregate".

He made it clear that whilst he did not agree with the Boundary Committee's view that legally they were only able to consult on one proposal, the issue of whether to actually consult on more than one proposal was a matter of discretion for them and refused to quash the Devon review.

He said the case brought by East Devon was "premature" because the Secretary of State has already extended the deadline by which the Committee must make its final recommendation to February 13. He said that this additional time may enable the Committee to meet its statutory duties if it chooses to advance more than one proposal.

East Devon has been granted leave to appeal. The Secretary of State and the Boundary Committee have yet to respond to this latest High Court ruling, but I will provide a further update when that happens.