The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government yesterday dismissed an appeal in which planning permission was sought to develop housing near Askham Bog, a site of special scientific interest on the outskirts of York.
Emma-Louise Fenelon and Darragh Coffey represented Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT) at the 12 day planning inquiry in November 2019. They argued that building 516 residential housing units in close proximity to Askham Bog would cause irreparable harm to this unique habitat and area of natural beauty, which has been described by Sir David Attenborough as irreplaceable. In dismissing the developer’s appeal, the Secretary of State accepted this argument and concluded that the development would probably cause such harm to the Bog and should not be permitted.
Emma-Louise and Darragh were instructed by the Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) and acted for the Trust on a pro-bono basis.
Read more about the appeal on ELF’s website here and the YWT website here.
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