If a N'Plan is set-aside as unsound, can I claim damages for huge losses?

Question

If a Parish Council have created a N'Plan including all four sites that are undeliverable, can I claim against them for my personal losses? The four sites are all within the Ashdown Forest SPA zone, and none have Sangs mitigation, so cannot be built on.  The LPA have accepted the Plan, and it was voted in, adopted, in good faith by local people.  However, the Parish failed to explain the Sangs requirement, so general public are unaware of their oversight. Now, promoters for a site that IS suitable (except for the emerging Plan) are taking legal action against the LPA.  If successful and the N'Plan set aside, can I claim against the individual Parish Cllrs for my losses.?  I have lost my home and livelihood while the (good and available) site is stalled. It is common knowledge the good site was rejected for inclusion by the Parish Council only on the basis of personal grudges, not the merits of the site itself.

Answer 1

Really, I'm afraid this is a question where you need individual specialist professional advice.

In general, individual councillors are only liable if they have been clearly negligent. And costs of a general kind, as opposed to the costs of fighting legal cases, may well be difficult to recover.

But planning law and practice is a complex area, and where there is a question of financial liability, professional advice is essential.

Comments

Adding 2+2 and making 5, I suspect this case was the appeal which concerns the process by which a neighbourhood development plan was prepared for the parish of Newick in East Sussex – the Newick Neighbourhood Plan. It makes for some interesting reading.