Highland Council appeals against ‘unlawful’ Academy Street revamp consultation ruling after the Eastgate centre launched a judicial review
Highland Council has lodged an appeal against the judicial review ruling that found its consultation on the Academy Street revamp was “predicated on” an “unlawful consultation”.
The deadline to appeal the ruling was due to expire tomorrow afternoon but the local authority had until now been tight-lipped about its intentions.
It is understood that the council wants to keep all options on the table for the full council on September 19.
A Highland Council spokesperson said: “The Highland Council is lodging an appeal against the judgement in relation to the Judicial Review that was raised challenging the Council’s intention to promote changes to traffic arrangements in Academy Street.”
The local authority wants to divide Academy Street in two and slash traffic by 70 per cent - some businesses fear that would devastate city centre trade.
Earlier this year, representatives of the Eastgate Shopping Centre challenged “the validity” of those decisions at the Court of Session.
On August 9, Lord Sandison issued his findings that the consultation process carried out by the council was not only “unfair” but had strayed into “unlawfulness”.
He said: “The consultation exercise failed to assist the respondent [the council] not only to choose whether or not to take any action, but to select which course of action it might most advantageously take.”
That, he said, resulted in “a legitimate sense of injustice on the part of the petitioners [the Eastgate Shopping Centre] and, it may be, others in a similar position to them”.
He concluded: “Objectively viewed their actions were calculated to, and did, produce a consultation which was unfair to and beyond the point of unlawfulness” and consequently the council’s decisions were predicated on that “unlawful consultation”.
The council has been trenchant in its defence of the plans but its case was not entirely supported by an economic impact assessment. It would need to base its appeal on a point of law.
Inverness BID has led a campaign to get the council to listen to the concerns of city centre businesses, with a spokesperson stating: "We urge Highland Council to reconsider their decision to appeal the recent Judicial Review ruling.
“Further public funds, time, and effort should not be wasted on pursuing a proposal that lacks broad support and which has been independently assessed as offering ‘poor value for money.’
“As we have consistently advocated for, businesses, the public and all other stakeholders would instead welcome an opportunity to help find and assess in the round alternative solutions.
“Change, as the Community Engagement Guide for the fund also makes clear, should be done with and not to people.”
