Judgment Reserved in "Significant" Planning Court Case Concerning the Covanta Rookery South Waste Incinerator, Bedfordshire

On Thursday 11th October 2018, Lang J reserved judgment in Bedfordshire Against Covanta Incinerator's challenge to the grant of an environmental permit for a waste incineration installation at Rookery South. The site is subject to a Development Consent Order which was issued in 2011. Covanta, the Interested Party, applied for the permit in 2016 and it was granted by the Environment Agency in January of this year.

The challenge to the permit has been brought on the basis that the permit was premised on an mistake of fact and/or based on erroneous science, which was incorporated in the permit, on principles established in Wealden v SSCLG [2015] ENV LR 31. The Defendant and Interested Party resisted the challenge on the basis that the Environment Agency did not adopt the error, which was in any event not material to the decision to grant the permit.

Daniel Stedman Jones acted for the Claimant and Richard Harwood QC for the Interested Party.