Mackman v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and others

Town and country planning – Permission for development. The claimant applied, under s 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, to quash the decision by an inspector appointed by the first defendant Secretary of State to grant outline planning permission to erect 73 dwellings, contending that the screening opinion adopted by the second defendant local planning authority had been unlawful. The application was dismissed. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in dismissing the claimant's appeal, held that, on a fair reading of the screening opinion, the planning officer had not failed to have regard to the issue of cumulative impact. Further, the reasoning, albeit brief, had not been inadequate.