Peak District and South Yorkshire Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Transport

Alternatives to a proposed nationally significant infrastructure project are not automatically a mandatory material consideration merely because the project causes planning harm which is outweighed by its benefits. The decision-maker must consider alternatives where legislation or policy expressly requires it, or where, on the facts, they are so obviously material that it would be irrational to ignore them.

Where a project has undergone full options appraisal for inclusion in a Roads Investment Strategy, paragraph 4.27 of the National Policy Statement on National Networks permits the decision-maker to satisfy themselves that the appraisal was undertaken; it does not require a fresh personal assessment of every alternative. Whether further alternatives require consideration remains a matter of planning judgment.

CPRE challenged the Secretary of State’s decision to grant development consent for the A57 Link Roads Scheme, which involved development in the Green Belt. The challenge concerned the treatment of alternatives to the road-based scheme.

Ground 1, concerning cumulative carbon emissions and environmental impact assessment, was stayed pending the Court of Appeal’s decision in Boswell v Secretary of State for Transport. On Ground 2, CPRE argued that the Secretary of State had either treated alternatives as a material consideration without assessing them personally, or had unlawfully failed to take account of alternatives which were mandatory material considerations.

1. Permission was refused on CPRE’s primary case. Properly understood, the applicant had relied on the absence of alternatives to development in the Green Belt, rather than asserting that the chosen scheme was better than all alternative schemes. The Secretary of State had not treated the alternatives as a material consideration requiring a separate personal assessment.

2. The court applied the established test for a mandatory material consideration. A consideration must be expressly or impliedly required by legislation or policy, or be so obviously material to the decision that ignoring it would be irrational.

3. Green Belt policy in the National Policy Statement on National Networks requires substantial weight to be given to Green Belt harm and requires very special circumstances for inappropriate development. It does not impose a positive obligation to assess alternative schemes capable of causing less harm.

4. Paragraph 4.27 of the National Policy Statement permits reliance on a full options appraisal undertaken for a Roads Investment Strategy, provided the decision-maker satisfies themselves that the appraisal was carried out. It does not override paragraph 4.26 or the legal requirements governing environmental statements.

5. The common law recognises that alternatives may be relevant or necessary where there are clear planning objections, significant adverse effects and a case based on need outweighing planning disadvantages. There is no one-size-fits-all rule. The question remains one of planning judgment.

6. The circumstances were materially different from the exceptional circumstances in R (Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site Ltd) v Secretary of State for Transport. The proposed alternatives were disputed, some extended beyond the application boundary, and criticisms concerning the age of the options appraisal had already been addressed by the Panel.

7. The alternatives advanced were not so obviously material that failure personally to assess them rendered the decision unlawful. Permission was granted on the alternative case, but the claim failed.

This was a first-instance judicial review in the Administrative Court. The claim challenged the Secretary of State’s decision dated 16 November 2022 to grant development consent for the A57 Link Roads Scheme.

Ground 1 was stayed pending the Court of Appeal’s decision in Boswell v Secretary of State for Transport. Ground 2 was determined in this judgment.