Proposed Legal Challenge – Great North Leisure Park

Following the Mayor’s decision to grant planning permission for the GNLP redevelopment, we have instructed our legal team to prepare a legal challenge to the decision.

Having reviewed the planning process and supporting documents, our lawyers believe there are several potentially significant legal issues that need to be examined by the courts.

The proposed challenge focuses on three broad areas:

1. Loss of existing leisure and community facilities

Concerns that insufficient consideration was given to the loss of existing facilities, including the cinema, football club and bowling alley, and whether their loss and lack of replacement were properly assessed.

2. Equalities – impact on different groups within the community

Concerns that the decision did not adequately consider how the loss of existing facilities could disproportionately affect certain groups, including children, older and disabled people, and community and faith groups who currently use the site.

3. Protection of local wildlife and natural habitats

Concerns that important ecological surveys and decisions about protecting local wildlife, including great crested newts and other protected species, have been left until after grant of planning permission, rather than being fully assessed beforehand. Furthermore, the surveys proposed would only cover part of the site and could take place after construction was already underway. This creates a risk of inadequate mitigation and denies the public an opportunity to comment.

What happens next?

Our legal team has written to the Mayor setting out these concerns and seeking a response. If the response is not adequate, the intention is to apply for a judicial review. This would ask the court to examine whether the planning decision was made lawfully. If the court found it was not made lawfully, the planning permission would be quashed.

This is an important step in holding the Mayor to account and ensuring that the legal requirements relating to our community, local facilities and the natural environment have been properly followed.

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