Great Trippetts Estate Ltd, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government & Anor

Facts

The Great Trippetts Estate, owned by the Marquess of Milford Haven and lying within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, had until 2002 been a mixed arable and dairy farm before falling into decline. In August 2005 Chichester District Council granted permission to change the use from agriculture to mixed agricultural and equine use for polo ponies, subject to conditions including condition 7, which forbade the creation of polo practice fields or arenas without prior written consent, and granted permission for the retention and extension of a smaller all weather manège near the stables. That manège proved unusable: it drained badly and stood so close to the stabling that horses were distracted. A new and much larger manège was built in Hilly Field, together with an exercise track, without any application to the council, and a tennis court was also constructed. The council issued enforcement notices, and planning permission for the manège and exercise track was refused. On appeal the Inspector upheld the enforcement notices concerning the tennis court and the manège, but granted permission for the exercise track and excised it from the notice. The estate company brought two appeals under section 289 of the Town and Country Planning Act and one under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act.