Judge Halts $2B Ravenscraig Scheme

"The issuing of planning permission in these circumstances is a step that no authority acting reasonably could have taken, at least unless if could be satisfied that the appeals had no reasonable prospects of success," said Lord Justice Carloway.

The designation of Ravenscraig as town center would make it easier to get planning consent for the massive development. Developer Ravenscraig Partnership, a joint venture among Wilson Bowden, Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire and site owner Corus plan to build more than 904,198 sf of retail, office and industrial space as well as 3000 homes. They argue, backed by the council and the Scottish Executive, that the 1,100-acre site of the biggest former steelworks site in Scotland needs a critical mass of high-value development if the heavy costs of remediation are to borne.

But Standard Life and Land Securities Group, which have significant investments in the town centers of Hamilton and East Kilbride respectively, object to the Ravenscraig proposals. They fear that shops in those two towns would lose millions of pounds of business a year to a new center. In an attempt to block the development they sought a judicial review of the decision by North Lanarkshire Council to grant planning permission for the Ravenscraig scheme.

The court was told that the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan aimed to protect existing town centers, including those of Hamilton and East Kilbride. The Ravenscraig proposals were contrary to the plan, they held, but last year Scottish ministers approved an alteration in the structure plan that governs local planning policy. Those alterations designated Ravenscraig a town center.

Standard Life and Land Securities lodged an appeal against this decision by the Scottish Executive, and the case is due to be heard by the Court of Session in September. Despite knowing that the appeal was pending, North Lanarkshire Council decided to consider the planning application by Ravenscraig Ltd. and granted consent. Now the judge has ruled the council exceeded its remit and overturned their decision. The judgment means the appeals against the alteration of the structure plan will be heard in September by three judges.

Jim McCabe, the leader of North Lanarkshire Council, said he was disappointed by the decision. "Work on this development will press ahead," he said. "Ravenscraig represents a major economic benefit to the whole of Lanarkshire, and this type of court action, which is based on commercial self-interest, is a frustrating delaying tactic," he added. "The council is in no way deterred by this decision and is confident that the alteration to the structure plan will be confirmed by the court."