Arevik Jackson represented the Appellants – Gypsy and Traveller community families, in five co-joined planning enforcement appeals, securing several temporary personal planning permissions and a partial award of costs against Cheshire East Council.
All the pitches occupied by the Appellants as their homes were located either on or close to two high-pressure natural gas pipelines. Both described as Major Accident Hazard Pipeline and within Health and Safety Executive (‘HSE’) Inner Zone.
The appeals were opposed by the Council, the National Gas Transmission (‘NGT’) and HSE.
Each of the bodies gave oral evidence and was cross-examined by Arevik during the inquiry.
Arevik pursued several procedural and substantive arguments – arguing that these appeals demonstrated exceptional personal circumstances, engaged Article 8 ECHR and section 11 of the Children’s Act 2004.
She argued that the NGT’s case was wrong, and that the crux of these appeals was in the balancing the exceptional personal and medical circumstances with the HSE’s standing advice within the context of a tilted balance. Arevik argued that the former outweighed the latter.
She also argued there to be a material difference between these appeals and the prior appeal on a wider site dismissed by the same Inspector in 2023.
You can read the appeal decision here and costs decision here.
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