Sharon Mathieson
by Sharon Mathieson
Following the recent Wimbledon tennis championships, one might be forgiven for assuming that the All England Tennis Club‘s continued development of Wimbledon Park would be of high priority.
However, a London Borough Council's decision to grant planning permission for such development, seemingly in contravention with various restrictive covenants, has highlighted the relationship between planning considerations and other aspects concerning the title to a property when considering and assessing a proposed development.
What is the nature of the covenants?
The covenants, which were granted in 1993 when the club purchased the land, seek to prevent any further major development of the land and are to the benefit of the council.
Whilst, up to now, these have not been an issue as the land has been kept as open space and used as a golf club, it would appear that now these covenants could prevent the proposed development.
What will be the effect of granting planning permission on the restrictive covenants?
In law, restrictive covenants rarely constitute material considerations in planning application assessments, and as a consequence, whilst council planners are required to assess an application for planning in accordance with planning laws, the presence of the restrictive covenants are unlikely to have an impact on the decision to grant planning permission.
What does this mean for the proposed development?
In this instance, whilst it is somewhat unusual that the party having the potential ability to enforce the restrictive covenants is the same body as the one responsible for granting planning permission, unless the council decides to release the restrictions, the club may still face difficulty in proceeding with its development plans if breaching the terms of the covenants could still prevent the development.
For more information and a more in-depth analysis of the situation, please click here.
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Sharon Mathieson is a Partner and heads up Ward Hadaway’s Property Litigation Team acting for a wealth of clients across various sectors. Sharon was awarded the accolade of being a leading individual for property litigation in the latest Legal 500 national listings. Contact Sharon.