Ms Oonagh Buckley:

I am not sure I could fully agree with the Deputy. There are novel points of law that are elucidated by sometimes contesting cases and there would have been long-established approaches. The one that always springs to mind is something called sunlight-daylight policy. We got a ruling and we contested it because what we were doing was what all planning authorities were apparently doing, but a judge said that, no, we had actually been applying the rules the wrong way. That was a useful elucidation of a novel or new point. It is surprising that even in the decisions taken quite recently, on some really long-standing assumptions around the planning system, we have only been given a strong ruling on them by a High Court judge in the last short while, or, indeed, by an appellate court. It is sometimes important to contest cases. I would like to move us to a situation where the board is contesting cases and winning more than it loses. That would be a good result.

It is important to point out that planning has always been a contested space. When you are the final arbiter, the final decision-maker in the planning sphere, and you are taking the final decisions, then your decisions are going to be challenged by somebody. That is part and parcel of this world. I think the board needs to be upskilled to make sure it is able to cope in that highly contested legal space.