Further to yesterday’s news that the application for the Hinckley NRFI has been rejected, I wanted to share with you the decision letter that I have received from the Minister for Rail.
You can read the Secretary of State’s statement of reasons here: TR050007-002725-Refusal Letter - Hinckley NRFI.pdf
Paragraph 103, titled ‘The Secretary of State’s conclusion’, confirms what our community has been saying all along; “the potential negative impacts outweigh the need for the Proposed Development and the expected benefits.”
As we expected, the developer of the proposed Hinckley NRFI, Tritax Symmetry, has said they are seeking legal advice on next steps and will review their position.
Some people have asked what this means for us, and what the difference is with an appeal to the High Court (which has been denied) and a Judicial Review.
What’s the difference?
A court appeal is when a higher court (the English court system works on a hierarchy) reviews the decision of a lower court to determine whether any errors were made in its application of the law.
A Judicial Review is when a court is asked to examine the legality of a decision made by an administrative agency (in this case, the Secretary of State and Rail Minister at the Department for Transport) and determine whether the process used to make the decision was fair and lawful.
As the decision to refuse development consent was made by the Secretary of State for Transport, the correct procedure would be to apply for a Judicial Review.
What happens if a Judicial Review is granted?
If someone chooses to apply for JR, the court will decide whether to grant permission for a hearing. If this is granted, there will be a hearing and the question before the court is; was the decision made lawfully?
If the court agrees that the decision was unlawful, the public body (in this case the Secretary of State for Transport) will have to reconsider the decision.
To be clear; this does not mean that the outcome will change – the Secretary of State could reach the same decision, but in a lawful way.
To apply for a Judicial Review would be throwing good money after bad. But, ultimately, the decision rests with Tritax. They have six weeks to apply for a Judicial Review – I’ll continue to share any updates as and when I have them.
