Sorry Case History Shows Planning In Poor Light

The facts in the recent Coleford Aldi case illustrate much of what is wrong with planning at the moment. The decision is a useful reminder of some useful basic principles that the Court applies when considering challenges, and which should be expanded to discourage poor planning.

In 2013 a town centre site was promoted for Tesco in Coleford. Tesco withdrew from the site in 2014 after planning permission had been granted. In 2015 Aldi were refused planning permission for a competing out-of-centre site, on both retail impact and sequential test grounds. A year later Aldi made a new application. The underlying scheme was virtually identical.

The application was supported by a retail impact assessment. The council commissioned consultants who reached opposing conclusions on both impact and sequential issues. As is becoming tediously common Aldi submitted a written opinion from their QC. The council then procured an alternate opinion from a QC. As in 2015, the council's