Jersey Royal Court clarifies timing for planning appeals - Heath v Minister for the Environment

This article features in the autumn 2024 issue of the Channel Islands Property Newsletter.

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June 2024 saw the Royal Court of Jersey deliver a judgment in the case of Heath v Minister for the Environment. This appeal centred upon when time starts to run for the purposes of an appeal under Article 116 (5) of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002.

In this particular case, Heidi Heath, a neighbouring property owner, sought to challenge the decision of the Minister for the Environment (the Minister) to grant planning permission for the construction of a two-bedroom dwelling within the residential curtilage of a property known as Pine Grove, Le Vieux Mont Cochon, St Helier.

Ms Heath's third-party appeal was dismissed by the Minister, and her appeal against that dismissal was found by the Master of the Royal Court to have been submitted out of time. This was due to it not being made within the 28 day period "beginning with the date of determination," stipulated by Article 116(5).

Ms Heath appealed to the Royal Court against the Master's decision. The key issue was determining when the time period for lodging an appeal should begin – from the date the decision was made, the date it was signed, or the date it was published online?

The Royal Court ruled that the appeal period started from the date of the decision, which in this case was 30 January 2023, rather than the later dates of when the decision was signed or when it was published.

Since Ms Heath's appeal was filed after this 28-day period had expired, the Royal Court determined that her appeal was out of time and could not proceed. It further declined to grant her application for an extension of time.

After noting that the dates ascribed to the decision on the Planning website were likely to cause confusion, the Royal Court issued a recommendation that the Minister should ensure clarity in the communication of decision dates to avoid confusion for those considering an appeal.

This ruling highlights the importance of understanding when a decision is officially determined in the context of planning appeals and makes it clear that a delay in publishing a decision does not extend the statutory period for filing appeals.