Bluestone has won its legal battle to build a new generation holiday village in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Lord Hoffman, Lord Scott of Foscote and Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe refused the Council for National Parks' appeal, stating: "Permission is refused because the petition does not raise an arguable point of law of general public importance". This is the final hurdle in the planning battle and means that construction of the £60 million Bluestone holiday village at Canaston, near Narberth, which is expected to create up to 900 jobs, can now commence. In July, three Supreme Court judges ruled in Bluestone's favour and unanimously ruled that the authority's planning consent for the Bluestone leisure development is legal. The judgement upholds an earlier High Court decision which concluded that the authority's planning committee had correctly taken into account economic benefits in granting approval. The CNP has now exhausted all avenues of challenge within the British court system. Welcoming the decision, Bluestone chief executive, William McNamara, said: "We are delighted with this decision which was not unexpected. Bluestone has now passed every legal, democratic and environmental test laid before it by two planning committees, 10 statutory advisors, an independent Ombudsman, a High Court judge three Lord Justices at the Supreme Court of Appeal and now three Law Lords. "That is 10 professional judgements that all bear witness to the propriety of the Bluestone decision and this clears the way for work to begin on this major new holiday village development in the UK." The judgement also makes it clear that the authority's decision does not override planning policy. Speaking on the announcement of the decision, Clr. Stephen Watkins, chairman of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, stated: "We are delighted with the Law Lords' ruling. We are all very pleased that the care with which the authority approached the complex and challenging Bluestone development, and the exhaustive process undertaken by officers and members, has been vindicated during its consideration by the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and the House of Lords." Clr. Watkins added: "We look forward to continuing to work positively with the developers to achieve a quality development which will bring much-needed employment and economic benefit to Pembrokeshire." The deputy leader of Pembrokeshire County Council also welcomed the decision. "I know we have been here before, but I firmly believe now that the Council for National Parks has finally exhausted the appeals process," said Clr. John Allen-Mirehouse, cabinet member for economic development, regeneration and business support. "The House of Lords announcement reaffirms the decisions taken some time ago at a local level before the democratic process was hijacked by a body of non-elected members, the CNP. "I would go so far as to say that today is a victory for local democracy as the vast majority of Pembrokeshire people want to see this project underway and begin contributing to the county's economy." Chairman of the Council for National Parks, Kate Ashbrook, said: "This major holiday village will cause tremendous damage to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park which is why we are fighting so hard to protect the Park." The CNP were to convene an urgent meeting of their legal advisers to consider the implications of the decision.
