(General Regulatory Chamber)
Community Right to Bid
B e f o r e :
JUDGE ARMSTRONG-HOLMES
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KINGSTON APARTMENTS YORKSHIRE LIMITED |
Appellant |
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- and - |
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(1) KINGSTON UPON HULL CITY COUNCIL (2) HULL COMMUNITY PUB GROUP |
Respondents |
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Crown Copyright ©
Decision: The appeal is Dismissed
Background
The law
(1) For the purposes of section 89(2)(b)(ii) of the Act, but subject to paragraph (2), "a voluntary or community body" means –
(a) a body designated as a neighbourhood forum pursuant to section 61F of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990;
(b) a parish council;
(c) an unincorporated body –
(i) whose members include at least 21 individuals, and
(ii) which does not distribute any surplus it makes to its members;
(d) a charity;
(e) a company listed by guarantee which does not distribute any surplus it makes to its members;
(f) [a co-operative or community benefit society] which does not distribute any surplus it makes to its members; or
(g) A community interest company.
(2) A public or local authority may not be a voluntary or community body, but this does not apply to a parish council.
(3) In this regulation "co-operative or community benefit society" means a registered society within the meaning given by section 1(1) of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, other than a society registered as a credit union.
Evidence and discussion
The Tribunal's Role
Is the nomination valid?
"By conferring power of nomination on a "voluntary or community body with a local connection", in addition to parish and community councils, Parliament in my view envisaged that the nomination process may fall to be undertaken by those without any expertise in compiling formal legal documentation. Furthermore, Parliament would have been aware that a voluntary or community body may often be one formed at short notice in response to a previously unforeseeable threat to a community asset. In such circumstances, the body may well find itself having to make the nomination in haste."
"In view of this, it would be contrary to Parliament's purpose to interpret the subordinate legislation made by the Secretary of State in pursuance of section 89(4) as requiring strict adherence to each of the obligations set out in Regulation 6. The true construction of the overall statutory scheme is, I find, such that the local authority in question has discretion to waive a requirement in regulation 6, where the authority reasonably concludes that no substantial prejudice would be caused. Furthermore and in any event, the authority may, on the same basis, permit a nominator to make good a failure under Regulation 6, following initial receipt of the nomination documentation."
Signed Judge Dwyer
Date: 16/05/2025