The Supreme Court’s decision late last year on Hillside Parks Ltd vs Snowdonia National Park Authority [2022] UKSC 30 could have wide-ranging implications for developers on how to approach scheme amendments. The case itself is a curious one. Full planning permission for the site had originally been granted in 1967, for 401 homes on land that was not, at that time, part of the Snowdonia National Park. However, by the time the site was acquired by Hillside Parks Ltd in 2017, this had changed, with the site then within the park’s boundaries.

Over time, numerous planning applications were made, resulting in changes to the scheme which departed from the masterplan submitted as part of the 1967 permission. The planning authority had written to Hillside advising that it was considered impossible to undertake further works under the original permission, and that the developer should immediately stop work on site so that the planning position could be regularised.

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