by David Bates
Gilestone Farm owners lose compensation bid
A Welsh couple, who sought £100,000 compensation from the barrister who advised upon the planning permission defence for their Powys campsite, have seen their claim thrown out of the High Court.
Geraint and Christine Thomas met stiff opposition from local campaigners upon applying for an extension to their facilities; the Usk Valley Conservation Group raised a judicial review against the planning permission granted when the couple opened Gilestone Farm in Talybont-on-Usk, in the Brecon Beacons, in 2005.
Ian Albutt, an experienced planning barrister, was subsequently accused of providing ‘negligent’ and ‘over-optimistic’ advice, as well as creating unrealistic expectations pertaining to securing success against the campaigners’ objections. The farm owners owners also claimed Albutt had falsely suggested they would be entitled to compensation in the event that their planning permission was overturned.
The Welsh couple sought reparation of £100,000 in legal costs, as well as the ‘loss of a chance of obtaining an alternative planning permission’.
Mr. Justice Morgan ultimately denied the Thomas’s claims. He noted that their site had been both especially popular, even listed in the Daily Telegraph’s Top 50 UK campsites.
