Regina v. London Borough of Bromley (Respondents) ex parte Barker (FC) (Appellant)
Request for a preliminary ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Communities pursuant to Article 234 of the Treaty Establishing the European Communities
Property developers in the UK could face tighter environmental restrictions and more red tape following a landmark ruling at the European Court of Justice.
In a ruling handed down last Thursday that has been kept quiet until now, the ECJ said a London borough had violated the European law by failing to require a property developer to conduct an environmental impact assessment.
In what appears to be a landmark decision, the government has fallen foul of the European Union over the way the planning regime handles the legal requirement for environmental impact assessment (EIA).
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has just ruled that the government was wrong to stipulate that there is only a need to carry out EIA at the outline application stage.
Instead, the ECJ has issued a judgment which has insisted that the UK EIA regulations are contrary to the EU environmental assessment directive
