Judicial review of plans to redevelop Stradey Park dismissed

Residential redevelopment by Taylor Wimpey of the famous Stradey Park, former home of the Llanelli ‘Scarlets’, and a Persimmon development at Machynys West have both been given the go ahead as judicial review challenges were dismissed. The grounds for challenge concerned European ecological designations atCarmarthenBay(the ‘CBEEMS’) and Carmarthenshire County Council’s Appropriate Assessment of the schemes.

HHJ Milwyn Jarman QC, sitting as Deputy High Court Judge inCardiff, on 25 January 2012 held that there was no arguable case to challenge the Council’s handling of the matter. The case is of wide interest because of the many other development sites in Carmarthenshire and Swansea reliant on the scheme set up to avoid impact on the CBEEMS which lay at the heart of this challenge by Mr Hughes, a leading member of the Cocklepickers’ Association.

Geoffrey Stephenson appeared for the local planning authority, Morag Ellis QC for Taylor Wimpey and Anthony Porten QC for Persimmon.