The operator of Heathrow Airport is not a public authority for the purposes of the Environmental Information Regulations. So held by the FTT in Heathrow Airport Ltd v Information Commissioner, EA/2020/0101, Judgment on 18;June 2021. Although the Airport  had operated as a function of the State prior to its privatisation, and is closely regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority, it is a commercial enterprise. It competes with similar businesses. It is not akin to the provision of a public service.

When determining whether planning consent should be granted to upgrade an advertising hoarding to a digital display, not only must the residential amenity of the display be considered. Specific conditions should be addressed, in the interests of highway safety, in relation to the use of moving images and both the frequency and the speed of change of advertisements on the display. So held in Calderdale Borough Council v SoS (2021) EWHC 695 (Admin).

In Open Spaces Society v SoS (2021) EWCA Civ 241 the Court of Appeal held that, in deciding whether it is expedient to confirm a public path diversion order, in exercise of the power conferred by Section 119(6) of the Highways Act 1980, the decision-maker MUST have regard to the matters specified in paras (a) to (c) and any material provision of a rights of way improvement plan, AND MAY have regard to ANY OTHER RELEVANT MATTER, including, when appropriate, the owner or occupier of the land over which the path currently passes, or the WIDER PUBLIC INTEREST.

Commitments on the environment in the 1246 page Brexit deal go beyond other EU trade agreements. The deal sets out some specific mutual commitments. These include maintaining the planned reduction of greenhouse gases and a system of carbon pricing. The commitment extends to not lowering the overall level of environmental protection in a way that impacts trade or investment. The deal also outlines common principles, such as the polluter pays, and provides for enforcement measures.

The validity of a temporary Experimental Traffic Order, restricting access through a London street to zero omission vehicles, was upheld Tomkins v City of London (2020) EWHC 3357 (Admin). It was found that there had been no duty to carry out a non-statutory consultation. There was no legitimate expectation to that effect. However, declarations were granted in relation to failings to comply with procedural requirements and statutory requirements in relation to statement of reasons.

There is an exception to the duty under Directive 2003/4 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, S.I. 2004/3391, to disclose environmental information, when the request for disclosure involves the disclosure of “ internal communications”. What are they? They are not defined in the Directive. Read more »

In Case C-826/18 from the Netherlands Advocate General Bobek’s Opinion dated 2 July 2020 says that all of (1) Article 6 of the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters, (2) Article 6 of Directive 2011/92/EU, as amended, on the assessment of environmental effects, and (3) Article 24 of Directive 2010/75/EU on integrated pollution prevention and control, confer full participation rights ONLY on “the public concerned”, NOT on the public at large.

The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General (Amendment) Regulations 2020, S.I. 2020/548, further amending S.I. 2007/3483, come into force on 22 June 2020. They give local authorities, with civil parking enforcement powers, pursuant to the Traffic Management Act 2004, power to send penalty charge notices based on approved CCTV evidence through the post to drivers who park or load illegally in mandatory cycle lanes.

In Barlow v Wigan MBC (2020) EWCA Civ 696 the Court of Appeal holds that a public path in a local authority park engaged the statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 notwithstanding that the path had not been constructed as a highway by the authority in its capacity as highway authority. The path was nonetheless maintainable at public expense within Section 36 of the Act. It had been dedicated as a highway.

R (Pereira) v Environment & Traffic Adjudicators (2020) EWHC 811 (Admin) concerned a parking ticket issued by Southwark Council. A judicial review challenge by a motorist succeeded. The case raised the question whether privately owned land, a stretch of pavement in Dulwich Village, was a “highway”, under Section 31 of the Highways Act 1980, or “any other road”, including pavement, under Section 15 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974, “to which the public has access”, so as to preclude even the owner of the land, Dr  Pereira, from parking there. Fordham J answered the question in the negative. There are twin preconditions for public access: factual public access and legal public access. Trespass, including tolerated trespass, can never be the basis of lawful public access.