Judicial pressure on the University and City Council

On October 23, the High Court in Birmingham came to a decision on the case for a Judicial Review of Oxford City Council’s planning debacle over the student housing adjacent to Port Meadow. The Judge decided to trust the University and Council to conduct a proper Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the site with proper public consultation. The Save Portmeadow Campaign and the Council for the Protection of Rural England welcomed the result. “It puts the spotlight on the Council and the University to honour the commitments they made to the Judge today, and to take meaningful steps to properly address the impact of the Port Meadow blocks. It means the University’s ‘voluntary’ EIA should not be a whitewash. So, after months of sitting on their hands and steadfastly refusing to engage with the anger of the residents of Oxford, we look forward to seeing the University step up to the plate.” “The Judge also turned down the City Council’s application for costs against us, which amounted to £8,175. It underlines the merits of our case and vindicates our decision to pursue it. Neither the Council nor University have moved on this disgraceful saga without our pressuring them all the way.” “All in all, it’s a reasonably positive outcome. We did not win the Judicial Review, but the legal case has kept pressure on the Council and University, and forced them to up their commitments in Court.”