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A council’s determination to let Tottenham Hotspur Football Club to build a caller training installation successful a parkland successful northbound London has been quashed by a judge astatine nan precocious court.
The run group Guardians of Whitewebbs told a proceeding successful June that Enfield council’s determination to grant readying permission for a caller women’s and girls’ shot academy connected 6.5 hectares (16 acres) of onshore successful Whitewebbs Park was unlawful.
The group’s lawyers told nan proceeding successful London that nan assembly breached nan rules erstwhile making its decision, arsenic councillors were not provided pinch each applicable accusation regarding nan development’s biology impact, meaning they were “materially misled”.
Campaigners besides claimed location was a “real anticipation of bias” successful nan determination arsenic Spurs had “unparalleled access” to elder assembly figures astatine nan clip of nan application.
Enfield council, which was Labour-controlled astatine nan clip but is now tally by a Conservative number administration, withdrew its defence to nan declare past month.
But Spurs continued to reason nan challenge, claiming it should beryllium dismissed arsenic nan consequence “would inevitably person been nan same” had nan accusation been provided.
The nine besides said nan allegations of bias were “completely overblown”.
In a ruling connected Monday, Sir Tim Kerr, sitting arsenic a precocious tribunal judge, quashed nan determination to o.k. nan plans, uncovering nan consequence “could good person been different” had each nan applicable accusation astir nan strategy been available.
He dismissed claims concerning imaginable bias, describing nan group’s arguments arsenic “weak” and stating that “cordial relations” betwixt nan assembly and nan nine were “normal fixed nan overlapping functions and interests”.
Spurs agreed a 25-year lease for nan tract successful 2023 – a determination that was unsuccessfully challenged astatine nan precocious tribunal successful 2024 – and nan assembly resolved to approve nan readying application successful February past year.
The plans would person seen nan building of 10 shot pitches and different activity connected nan park, which is adjacent nan club’s men’s training facilities.
Jenny Wigley KC, representing Guardians of Whitewebbs, said successful written submissions that nan ecologist Giles Sutton had carried retired a study into nan biology benefits of nan plans successful November 2024.
Sutton told nan assembly that while he did not reason nan strategy “as such”, it was “counterintuitive” to judge nan club’s claims that nan tract would use nan section situation arsenic astir 40% of nan parkland would beryllium lost.
“In my opinion, if nan assembly were to judge this, their determination could beryllium easy challenged,” he added.
But Wigley said assembly officers had said successful a readying study for councillors that location was “no objection to nan projected development”, contempt Sutton telling nan authority that this did not bespeak his advice.
She continued that Sutton’s study “clearly informed nan readying officers’ views” connected nan biology effect of nan strategy and should person been presented arsenic a “background document”, meaning members of nan nationalist could person inspected it.
Wigley said: “[The law] does not licence this benignant of salami slicing, wherever a readying serviceman tin disclose parts of a study they work together pinch but tin debar nationalist scrutiny of nan parts of nan study they do not work together with.”
James Maurici KC, representing Spurs, said Sutton’s views were “no much than an assertion” and that Guardians of Whitewebbs had “failed to supply immoderate evidence” that it had been prejudiced by nan council’s nonaccomplishment to supply nan document.
He continued: “It is highly likely, so inevitable, fixed nan absence of immoderate grounds of prejudice, that nan result for nan claimant would not person been substantially different if nan behaviour complained of had not occurred.”
But Kerr said nan council’s noncompliance pinch rules was “serious” and that councillors were “materially misled” by nan removal of Sutton’s report.
Alessandro Georgiou, nan Conservative leader of Enfield assembly since May 2026, said nan authority was delighted pinch nan determination and that it withdrew its defence arsenic it would “not person been successful nan champion interests of residents crossed nan borough”.
He added: “We said we would protect Whitewebbs Park from this unacceptable connection and we will now move guardant pinch plans that bespeak nan needs of nan section organization and besides sphere and protect this important area of Enfield.”
