S & A Property’s legal application dismissed
S & A Property Limited's application to the Court of Appeal in London today (Monday, February 25) to try and prevent enforcement action by Herefordshire Council has been dismissed. The decision now clears the way for the council to take enforcement proceedings against the company.
This action followed Herefordshire Council's legal victory at
the High Court of Justice in Birmingham against a similar
injunction in a case decided by His Honour Judge Brown QC earlier
this month.
Lords Justice Carnwath, Toulson and Waller were asked to grant an
injunction preventing enforcement action being taken by the council
until the Court of Appeal have ruled if His Honour Judge Brown was
correct to refuse the originally sought injunction.
Lord Justice Carnwath said: "The case is weak in the extreme."
Lord Justice Waller said: "The longer this matter went on, the more misconceived it seemed to be."
Lord Justice Toulson said: "The case was quite hopeless."
Costs of £8,850 were awarded to Herefordshire Council and must be paid within 14 days.
The company failed on February 7 in a bid to get an injunction to stop council enforcement action against buildings at Brierley Court Farm, near Leominster, from going ahead. The enforcement required S & A Property Limited to remove a sewage treatment works and amenity buildings, erected without planning permission, by January 10, 2008, but this had not been done. S & A sought an interim injunction to preserve the status quo at the site pending its application to the European Court of Human Rights but this was refused.
His Honour Judge Brown turned down the earlier application for an injunction in Birmingham and costs of £6,852.40 were awarded to Herefordshire Council. S & A Property Limited then sought leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal but His Honour Judge Brown turned down this request.
The company said at the time it would still be looking to appeal this decision and the urgent hearing was listed for the Court of Appeal in London on Monday February 25, 2008.
