''Fawcett Properties Ltd v Buckingham County Council''

960 Year 960 ( CMLX) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. It was the 960th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 960th year of the 1st millennium, the 60th year of the 10th century, and the firs ...

has become a leading case in planning law and concerned agricultural conditions of use. It is also relevant for its tests on finding certainty versus uncertainty of policy, contract or other concepts rendering them void. It has been applied in

English trusts law English trust law concerns the protection of assets, usually when they are held by one party for another's benefit. Trust law, Trusts were a creation of the English law of English property law, property and English contract law, obligations, a ...

which has long held a ''

cy-près doctrine The cy-près doctrine ( ; Law French, , modern French: ''si près'' or ''aussi près'') is a legal doctrine which allows a court to amend a legal document to enforce it "as near as possible" to the original intent of the instrument, in situation ...

'', expressed in pre 1649-

Law French Law French () is an archaic language originally based on Anglo-Norman, but increasingly influenced by Parisian French and, later, English. It was used in the law courts of England from the 13th century. Its use continued for several centur ...

meaning "there nearly" that is perfecting concepts or a purpose for funds which is tantamount to a legitimate interest or concern and intended to take clear effect.

Legal context

The law of

planning permission Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to buil ...

s, integral to

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

, sits at the crossroads of

land law Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use ...

and public law. Specifically it combines the laws enabling and interpreting development and commercial interests with public interest laws such as in social welfare, food resource sustainability, quality/aesthetic consistency of housing and pollution mitigation. The case stressed the legitimate goal of protection of the

Metropolitan Green Belt The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...

in primary legislation and similar restrictions crop up in rural zoned

land use Land use is an umbrella term to describe what happens on a parcel of land. It concerns the benefits derived from using the land, and also the land management actions that humans carry out there. The following categories are used for land use: fo ...

areas outside of Local Plan development zones, in UK planning practical policy. The case upheld the ability of local planning authorities (LPAs) to impose restrictions which will only allow development in sensitive parts of their areas where meeting a pressing agricultural need to house the family of an agricultural/forestry worker, provided it has balanced such policies against those enabling developments to, if fully developed, meet the local housing needs assessment. The cases recognises that greenfield sites are cheaper to develop and have more aesthetic qualities than many brownfield (urban) sites however many LPAs will choose to make any development on such land a narrow exception not a norm.

Facts

Buckingham County Council gave permission for cottages to be built in an urban

green belt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...

, on the condition that ‘occupation of the houses shall be limited to persons whose employment.... is... in

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

... or in

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

or in an industry mainly dependent upon agriculture’, as defined by the

Town and Country Planning Act 1947 The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 51) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom passed by the Labour government led by Clement Attlee. It came into effect on 1 July 1948, and al ...

section 119. Fawcett Properties Ltd argued this condition was void.

Judgment

The House of Lords held that the condition was valid because it followed the policy of keeping the green belt for agricultural population, similarly defined in the Housing Act 1936 section 115. The definition could not, without overwhelming evidence, be held void for uncertainty. In the course of his judgment,

Lord Denning Alfred Thompson Denning, Baron Denning, (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999), was an English barrister and judge. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1923 and became a King's Counsel in 1938. Denning became a judge in 1944 when he w ...

reasoned: 961AC 636, 678

Applied in

*''

Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers ''Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd v Scotland'' 2015 judgment of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on the authority of the Scottish government to allow windfarm applications, under the Electricity Act 1989. It is relevant for U ...

015 015 may refer to: * 015, a telephone numbers in Malaysia, telephone number code in Malaysia * ''Global Underground 015'', DJ mix album by Darren Emerson * ''The Haunting of Tram Car 015'', 2019 novella by P. Djèlí Clark * JWH-015, chemical from t ...

UKSC 74, Supreme Court (Scotland) (SC S) *''Percy v Hall''

997 Year 997 ( CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first child of the emperor, but because of the power stru ...

QB 924, CA *''Newbury District Council v Secretary of State for the Environment'' (1977) 75 LGR 608, DC (Divisional Court) *''City of London Corporation v Secretary of State for the Environment'' (1971) 71 LGR 28 *''East Suffolk County Council v Secretary of State for the Environment'' (1972) 70 LGR 595, DC *''Hall & Co Ltd v Shoreham-by-Sea Urban District Council'' 9641 WLR 240 and (1963) 61 LGR 508, CA including

Obiter dictum ''Obiter dictum'' (usually used in the plural, ''obiter dicta'') is a Latin phrase meaning "said in passing",'' Black's Law Dictionary'', p. 967 (5th ed. 1979). that is, any remark in a legal opinion that is "said in passing" by a judge or arbitr ...

/Opinion of Lord Denning

Considered in

*''Newbury District Council v Secretary of State for the Environment'' 9781 WLR 1241, CA *''Kingsway Investments (Kent) Ltd v Kent County Council''

969 Year 969 ( CMLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar, the 969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 1st millennium, the 69th year of the 10th century, and the 10th ...

2 QB 332, CA *''Mixnams Properties Ltd v Chertsey Urban District Council'' 9641 QB 214, CA *''Wilson v West Sussex County Council''

963 Year 963 (Roman numerals, CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 39, probably of poison administered by his wife, Emp ...

2 QB 764, CA

Notes and references