Development plans and protecting national parks

The strength of the plan-led system and the protection of national parks has been thrown into sharp relief by a recent Court of Appeal decision. The judgment in R on the application of the Council for National Parks v Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority (Court of Appeal (Civil Division) [2005] EWCA Civ 888 20 July 2005) raises critical issues about the discretion available to planning authorities to override explicit policies contained in development plans.