Controversial plans to build a new walking and cycling route through a Newcastle nature reserve could face a legal challenge.
Newcastle City Council approved proposals last month for an asphalt pathway through the Havannah Nature reserve, despite the protests of wildlife campaigners.
While activists worried that the street lights which will line the route could have a damaging impact on local species, it was argued that the improved connection between Hazlerigg and the Great Park estate is needed for pupils who will attend the Great Park Academy once its new building opens later this year.
However, the council has now been hit with a legal threat over its decision to grant planning permission for the scheme.
The Environmental Law Foundation, acting on behalf of Save Newcastle Wildlife, claims that the approval was unlawful and should be quashed.
In a pre-action letter sent to the council on 16 June to set out the basis of a potential judicial review request, it claims that the council’s planning committee failed to consider alternative locations for the path, did not give adequate reasons for not doing so, and failed to comply with regulations on the conservation of habitats.
A council spokesperson said: “Newcastle City Council has received a pre-action letter from the Environmental Law Foundation. The council is preparing a response to this letter which will be issued this week.”
Newcastle upon Tyne. Image: Google Maps
More than 1,600 people had signed a Save Newcastle Wildlife petition opposing the development, while the planning committee heard from activist Mark Gibson in May that the five metre-high LED lighting posts to be installed through the nature reserve would disturb animals’ breeding and foraging behaviour and that there were “real alternatives that are not being considered”.
But the Gosforth Group Multi-Academy Trust said that upgrading the existing wagonway through the reserve was “vital to ensure the safety of children and young people” ahead of the planned opening of the new Great Park Academy site, which is due this September after years of delays.
The trust told the Local Democracy Reporting Service this week that the uncertainty surrounding the new path would not impact the school’s opening date.
A spokesperson said: “We are aware of the ongoing discussions regarding the student access route for Great Park Academy. The safety of our children and young people is our top priority. An alternative access route has been arranged for the school’s opening in September.”
If Save Newcastle Wildlife does mount a full judicial review request, it would not be the first time the group has taken legal action over the Great Park.
Campaigners previously lost a High Court battle to stop an expansion of the estate, which included 1,200 homes and two schools, in 2020.
The Newcastle Great Park Consortium has said that the development of walking and cycling path was a requirement of the planning permission it was granted by the city council for the estate.
