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33. The breaches of planning control complained of by the Claimants are primarily the material change in the use of the relevant land to a temporary Traveller site, and by the depositing of refuse or waste materials, without the requisite planning permission. 34.The cause of action that underlies a claim brought further to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 s187B is not one upon which the court can adjudicate; the court is not entitled to reach its own independent view on the planning merits of the case. The House of Lords in South Buckinghamshire District Council v Porter & Anr [2003] UKHL 26; [2003] 2 AC 558 (‘ Porter ’) at paragraphs 11, 20, 29 and 30 confirmed that the decision as to whether something is or is not a breach of planning control is a matter for the local planning authority, or the Secretary of State on appeal, and not the court. 35. However, the court’s power to grant an injunction under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 s187B is discretionary, albeit that discretion must be exercised judicially. In Porter at paragraph 29 and relevant to this context, Lord Bingham said as follows: “…that the power must be exercised with due regard to the purpose for which it was conferred: to restrain actual and threatened breaches of planning control. The power exists above all to permit abuses to be curbed and urgent solutions provided where these are called for.”
36. A local authority also is given powers to step into the shoes of local landowners and bring proceedings, by the Local Government Act 1972 s.222:
“(1) Where a local authority consider it expedient for the promotion or protection of the interests of the inhabitants of their area –
a) they may prosecute or defend or appear in any legal proceedings and, in the case of civil proceedings, may institute them in their own name, and
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