Walker Morris advises on successful defence of judicial review legal challenge to a 10,000 dwelling garden town scheme at Gilston Area

Following two High Court judgments in favour of the council, the Court of Appeal has now confirmed that no further right of appeal will be granted.

This outcome clears the way for the next stage of delivery, including the commencement of construction on the Central Stort Crossing, a vital piece of transport infrastructure connecting Hertfordshire to Essex, and the submission of master plans for the first new villages, with on-site construction expected to begin in 2026/27.

This scheme included some of the largest planning permissions granted in recent years and was particularly complex involving multiple phases across ownerships and cross-boundary aspects. The grounds of challenge raised by the judicial review claim were extensive and ranged from grounds relating to the approach, to environmental impact assessment of multi-phase projects, viability, heritage duties, alternative scheme options and local government constitutional points.

At a time when the government has recently announced a new wave of new town projects, the scheme demonstrates the team’s market leading experience of successfully advising on all stages of complex new settlement and garden town projects for a range of clients, including developer consortiums and government bodies

Lee Gordon, Planning & Infrastructure Consents Partner at Walker Morris, led the team advising East Herts Council throughout the planning process and subsequent successful defence of the legal challenge, with support from a multi-disciplinary team including Josh Fraser (Senior Associate, Planning), Josh Kitson (Director, Planning), Chris Woodthorpe (Partner, Real Estate) and Helen Auden (Real Estate) alongside other specialists.

Commenting on the success, Lee said: “This outcome marks a significant step forward for the Gilston Area and the wider Garden Town vision.  It follows a significant amount of hard work with officers and their partners over a lengthy period to ensure robust decision-making processes in determining the highly significant planning applications across a wide range of complex issues relevant to the delivery of multi-phase garden town developments.

“We’re delighted to have supported at all stages, from strategic advice, through to advice on officer reports and at committee, the negotiation of a high-value planning agreement and defence of legal proceedings. We’re delighted that the courts have endorsed the approaches taken to successfully defend the Council’s decisions against legal challenge, and that the project can now progress without further delay.

“This development represents a significant opportunity to deliver much-needed homes, infrastructure, and community facilities, and we look forward to seeing the next stages of progress.”