A
commercial development firm has begun a legal challenge against the state in the High Court of Justice.
The secretary of state for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles rejected HelioSlough's three million sq ft rail freight commercial development, on the grounds that a rival scheme would cause less harm to the green belt.
However, HelioSlough is disputing this claim, saying that Mr Pickles has not compared like-for-like proposals.
The
property investment firm has already spent £4.5 million on the scheme since the planning application was submitted back in 2006.
"We are convinced that the secretary of state has made the wrong decision and the only recourse we now have, under planning law, is for the court to look at the issues and provide a ruling," said the company's chief executive Mike Hughes.
Commercial development projects such as this are needed to plug the gap created by public sector spending cuts and put off the decline in the construction industry, according to the Federation of Master Builders.
Posted by Allan Flowers.
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