Staunch Campaign Limited, R (on the application of) v North Northamptonshire Council

Facts

The claimant, Save Titchmarsh and Upper Nene Countryside and Habitats (STAUNCH), a campaign group incorporated by guarantee, challenged the decision of North Northamptonshire Council of 21 November 2025 to grant hybrid planning permission to I.M. Properties Limited for 185,000m² of Class B8 warehousing on 60.05 hectares of greenfield land outside Titchmarsh, Northamptonshire. The site lies about 230 metres from the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits Special Protection Area and, applying the precautionary principle, Natural England treated it as functionally linked land supporting foraging and roosting Golden Plover and Lapwing, so that replacement land had to be provided. Natural England rejected the developer's first proposed mitigation area, and a 20-hectare area at the Lilford Hall Estate was then identified, its location initially kept confidential at the landowner's request. Place Services produced an Appropriate Assessment for the council under regulation 63 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, updated in October 2025, concluding there would be no adverse effect on the integrity of the SPA. The planning committee delegated approval on 9 July 2025 and permission followed once a section 106 agreement securing the replacement habitat for 80 years was completed. The claim was filed on 29 December 2025; Lang J granted permission on grounds 1, 3, 4 and 5, ground 2 — concerning alleged unauthorised burial of waste by the estate's owners — being ordered to be heard on a rolled-up basis.