Elmbridge Borough Council's request for a judicial review of the decision on the Alexpo appeal for the Jolly Boatman site has been refused. 

The council has released the following statement:

In August we updated residents that the council did not accept the Planning Inspector’s decision that ultimately permission has been granted for the development of the Jolly Boatman site.

Our next step was to obtain permission from the courts to proceed with a challenge.

We submitted to the High Court the council’s grounds for challenging the Inspector’s decision and the Secretary of State and other interested parties submitted statements setting out their positions.

The council has now received notification from the High Court that the permission for the Statutory Planning Review at the former Jolly Boatman site has been refused. This is an incredibly disappointing decision.

Given that there were grounds for seeking Statutory Planning Review, the council considers it was right to make the challenge. Indeed, we believe our residents would expect us to do no less. However, it has resulted in this outcome and our challenge has been refused.

As for the planning permission on the site of the Jolly Boatman, the High Court’s decision means that development can proceed as set out in the permission. We know that many residents in the areas around the site echo our disappointment.