A local resident was successful in her case that Council officers had not advised of members of the statutory requirement to have special regard to preserving historic or architecturally important buildings in accordance with the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act and para’s 193 and 194 of the NPPF which require great weight to be given to conserving heritage assets. The Court found that Guildford officers had not properly advised on the heritage tests and in so doing advised members to balance less than substantial heritage harm against public benefits without taking into account the requirement to accord ‘considerable importance and weight’ to a finding of harm to a listed building. The officer report had therefore mislead committee members, leading to the Courts decision to quash the planning permission.
