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The government has been forced to modify the planning restrictions it put in place to safeguard key sites earmarked by Thames Water for its Tideway Tunnel project following the threat of legal action.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council (H&FC), one of two west London local authorities affected, told Utility Week it was “highly likely” to seek a judicial review if Thames confirmed land at Carnwath Road, Fulham as a preferred site for construction works.
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) issued a direction in February preventing H&FC and neighbouring Wandsworth Council from granting planning permission affecting specific sites without the approval of DCLG.
H&FC and local landowners represented by SJ Berwin challenged the department and in April DCLG accepted that the direction went beyond its statutory powers because it was too far-reaching .
The site at Carnwath Road is particularly contentious because of proposals for a mixed-use development there.
The government has now withdrawn the original direction and replaced it with a new one that “still prevents planning permission being granted on specific sites”, said a DCLG spokesman.
Councillor Nick Buttermilk, H&FC’s deputy leader, said: “We continue to explore our options for challenging the use of the Fulham riverside as a major sewer construction site”.
This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 11 May 2012.
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