Butterworth v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and another

Town and country planning – Permission for development. The claimant sought an order quashing the decision of the inspector appointed by the first defendant Secretary of State, dismissing the claimant's appeal against the second defendant local planning authority's refusal to grant planning permission. The Planning Court, in allowing the application, held that the inspector had not provided the requisite express and unambiguous explanation of the approach she had been taking in the light of previous decisions, and her failure to do so had caused substantial prejudice to the claimant.