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Supreme Court allows appeal from High Court, and sets aside an order dismissing claims brought by an engineer against a local authority for failing to include him on a register of suitably qualified consultants to advise on wastewater treatment, where the claim had been brought by plenary summons rather than judicial review, on the grounds that: (a) although there had been repeated refusals to include the engineer on the register, the issue of whether the appropriate time limit had been met was a matter to be determined in the context of all of the facts rather than as a preliminary issue; and (b) the policy of the local authority under which the engineer had been refused was a continuing one, rather than a single decision refusing him because of the nature of his application.
Charleton J (nem diss): Challenge to policy of local authority - refusal to accept applicant as qualified water treatment engineer - qualified engineer specialising in wastewater treatment - refusal in 2005 to accept engineer onto “Register of Independent Suitably Qualified Agents/Consultants Wastewater Treatment" - refusal again in 2010 - further refusal in 2011 - plenary summons issued in 2011 - whether appropriate to determine preliminary issue - benefits of unitary trial - preliminary issue directed as to whether the proceedings had been commenced in time - portion of claim declared by High Court to be time barred - upheld in Court of Appeal on different grounds - dismissal of public law claims in High Court - applicable time limits - whether claim was in substance a judicial review and subject to relevant time limits - the register as a decision - laches.
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