Leave granted to appeal acquisition of property adjacent to historic castle despite initial ex parte refusal

The High Court grants leave to appeal a decision of the planning board confirming a compulsory purchase order in respect of the applicant’s property, which is located adjacent to the grounds of a castle. The applicant had previously been refused leave on an ex parte basis, having failed to open the inspector’s report to the court when seeking leave. She now seeks leave to appeal and endeavours in that context to rectify her earlier omission. The court noted that whilst such an exercise would be viewed as totally impermissible in relation to a final order in inter partes litigation, the special context of refusal of an ex parte application unavoidably raises the procedural question as to the extent to which a moving party can mend their hand subsequently in relation to that specific type of application. The court concluded that the criteria for grant of leave and leave to appeal in the context of refusal of an ex parte application raise a certifiable question as necessarily ancillary to the substance questions, on the basis set out in the judgment.