The High Court refused Maxol Limited leave to pursue a judicial review of An Bord Pleanála’s decision to uphold planning permission for a petrol station proposed by John Crowley in Clonakilty, Co Cork. The court found Maxol lacked standing to maintain the proceedings and did not consider the substantive judicial review or decide whether the permission was invalid.
The judgment, delivered by Mr Justice Clarke on 21 December 2011, followed a combined hearing of Maxol’s application for leave and its substantive challenge. The leave application had first been brought ex parte in March 2011, then directed to proceed on notice. Clonakilty Town Council did not participate in the proceedings.
The dispute concerned a proposed station with a retail shop and three carwash bays. Maxol’s judicial review grounds focused on wastewater: it argued that the local treatment system’s capacity had not been adequately assessed and that information about proposed water treatment systems was contradictory or ambiguous.
The court treated the grounds in two groups. It rejected Maxol’s ability to raise the alleged contradictions and ambiguities because the relevant plans and information had been available during the planning process, but Maxol had not raised those points before the permission was granted.
On wastewater capacity, the judgment said the planning inspector had relied on the council’s apparent satisfaction that infrastructure capacity was available and on the developer’s advisers’ statement that the additional sewage load would be equivalent to one household. The judge said the inspector had made a mistake in accepting that statement. Maxol had also submitted expert evidence that the carwash systems could produce substantially more wastewater, though that evidence had not been before the Board.
The court nevertheless concluded that Maxol had not shown a “substantial interest” in the capacity issue. The effect alleged concerned the Clonakilty wastewater catchment generally and was no different for Maxol than for other residents or businesses in the area. The judge therefore declined leave. Because Maxol lacked standing, the court did not determine whether the Board’s mistake would have invalidated the permission.