FROM WILD JUSTICE — ON DARTMOOR AND THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD IN COURT

Good morning! Yesterday we had two pieces of good news on legal cases. A brief recap: much of Wild Justice's campaigning work focuses on judicial reviews where a claimant (for example, Wild Justice) challenges the legality of a decision made by a public body. These are difficult to win, and we've won some and lost some. We prefer winning. The process of judicial review is a stately dance (in some ways). Formal legal letters are exchanged where the claimant sets out its ideas about what has been done wrongly, and the statutory body usually says, in proper legal language, 'Nah, you've got that all wrong!'. Then comes a period of reflection and, if the claimant proceeds, a lot of paperwork is produced setting out the facts of the case, the grounds of challenge, the legal arguments and a witness statement. These documents are filed with the court and the potential defendant produces their own arguments saying 'Nah, you've got that all wrong!'. The papers go to a judge who decides whether the challenge should go to a full judicial review in court. Do the claimants have an arguable case which should be heard? We've been turned down at this stage - and it really hurts! But yesterday afternoon, out of the blue, we heard that two legal challenges of ours have been granted permission and will proceed to court hearings at some stage - probably a few months away. These are the two cases: The Dartmoor Commoners' Council We've told you quite a bit about this case. The Dartmoor Commoners' Council was set up by Parliament in the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of Dartmoor. We have argued that the Dartmoor Commoners' Council has failed to: Make regulations to ensure that the commons are not overstocked; Discharge its statutory duty under the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the area; Give effect to section 28G Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, by which it must take reasonable steps to further the conservation and enhancement of the flora, fauna or geological or physiographical features which make the sites of special scientific interest; and Give effect to regulation 9(3) of the Habitats Regulations 2017, under which it should issue any limitation notices to control overstocking. Yesterday's news was that The Honourable Mrs Justice Lang agrees that there is a case to answer and so we're going to court - we haven't won, we may not win, but a High Court judge has validated the strength of our arguments. Bring it on! You can read more about things on Dartmoor in these blogs: We're challenging over-grazing on Dartmoor, 22 July 2024 Wild Justice challenges Dartmoor Commoners’ Council in High Court to tackle deterioration of wildlife habitats, 30 August 2024 Dartmoor - commonly badly managed, 16 September 2024 Our discussions with lawyers and Dartmoor residents on this subject began last April - these things take time. A flawed planning decision by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority (PCNPA) This challenge has been going for quite some time but we haven't told you so much about it as there always seems to have been an extra twist of the story with which we had to deal. In essence, this challenge is about a planning decision by the PCNPA back in October - click here (and for more details see here and here) and the impacts of disturbance on coastal wildlife. Yesterday, His Honour Judge Jarman KC gave permission, on two of five grounds, for judicial review of the lawfulness of the planning decision. These were that the PCNPA: Acted in breach of the requirements of basic fairness and its statutory duties (including under the Local Government Act 1972) by failing to publish, ahead of the committee meeting at which the application was considered, key documents on which the defendant relied in carrying out its habitats regulations assessment and on which officers relied in recommending the grant of permission (Ground 1) Failed to consider the effects of the development on the Aberath - Carreg Wylan SSSI and thereby failed to apply materially relevant national policy and to determine the application in accordance with the development plan (Ground 2) We'll be discussing with our lawyers whether we might bring the other three grounds back into play (which is called seeking renewal). They concerned alleged breaches of the Habitats Regulations. Our discussions over the issues raised by this case go back almost a year - these things take time! For completeness: we still have an outstanding case on Badgers, with The Badger Trust, which is awaiting resolution. In other news: we have been offered a meeting by the Health and Safety Executive about the issues raised by our report, Collateral Damage (click here), which highlighted the failure of measures to reduce exposure of wildlife to poisonous rodenticides. we have very recently received the results of laboratory analysis of samples of game meat bought in supermarkets. How much lead is in this meat? We'll bring you the answer soon. we were planning to update you today on progress with our petition to ban driven grouse shooting - click here - and we'll come back to that, probably tomorrow. We're thrilled that we are going to court on these two cases. It's through your generosity that we can take on such complex legal challenges. If you like what we do then please consider donating through PayPal, bank transfer or a cheque in the post - see details here. That's it for now but, as you can see, we'll be back soon with news of other aspects of our work. Thank you! Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay). Dartmoor image by @venturaartist This is the 224th Wild Justice newsletter. This email was sent to you because you subscribed to it through the Wild Justice website or through an e-action or a petition where you ticked a box. Thank you. We will only use your personal details to send you the Wild Justice newsletter. We will not give or sell your details to anyone else. 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