A claim for judicial review of a planned urban extension to Canterbury on air quality grounds has been dismissed in the case of R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government & Ors.
An air quality assessment that formed part of an environmental statement was submitted in March 2016 by Corinthian Mountfield in relation to an urban extension of 4,000 homes together with a variety of other forms of complementary development.
The Air Quality Assessment monitored the impact of the development upon air quality, both in the vicinity of the site and also in the city centre, which was designated an air quality management area. The report determined that no excessive NO2 pollution would arise.
Professor of health policy at the University of Kent, Stephen Peckham, disagreed with the report suggesting that the flaws in the traffic modelling had led to underestimated levels of pollutants that would arise in the future with the development. The proposal was not called in by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).
The claimants believed that this disagreement should have been called in under Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe, which includes a requirement to ensure that threshold values of pollutants are not exceeded.
Mr Justice Dove held that he could see no justification for a broader interpretation of Directive 2008/50/EC, and the judicial review was dismissed.
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