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How much did ‘David and Goliath’ court battle to stop housing on woodland cost Moray Council?

Moray Council is under fire for their spending on the Slochy Woodlands court battle.

By Sean McAngus

April 29 2023, 6:00 am

Moray Council underfire over legal fees in Slochy Woodlands court case.

A solicitor who represented campaigners in a row over housing in Moray says the money spent by the council on legal fees was a “waste”.

Morlich Homes was hoping to build seven four-bedroom detached homes near Station Road in Portessie.

The application had initially been refused by the council in December 2020.

But the developer appealed and the decision was overturned by the council’s planning review body by five votes to three in November 2021.

That decision was met with outrage by campaign group Save Slochy Woodlands and a legal challenge to the Court of Session followed.

Back in February, court ruled in the campaigners’ favour.

In a 15-page ruling in the “David and Goliath case”, it stated: “The decision of the Moray Local Review Board constitutes an error of law, and must be quashed.”

So how much did all this cost?

We can now reveal the court case has cost the local authority £17,473.50.

This includes fees to external lawyers and outlays for counsel’s fees and court dues.

Hannah Moneagle is also the director of the Orkney Community Clinic. Image: Paul Glendell/DC Thomson..

The Slochy Woodlands’ group legal representative Hannah Moneagle believes the cost of the two-year dispute could have been avoided.

Mrs Moneagale said: “£17,000 is a significant amount of money to waste especially with biodiversity and climate change being high and important issues.

“The reality is the high expense could have been avoided.

“There are so many better things that sort of money could have been spent on.

“We pursued the legal challenge on a shoestring budget.

“The result is done and dusted after the time for the council and developers to appeal passed.”

‘Responsibility to defend’

A Moray Council spokeswoman previously expressed disappointment about the process of the Moray Local Review Body being questioned. However, she saw it as an opportunity to revisit the matter.

Now responding to criticism about the cost to the council, she added: “Moray Council had a responsibility to defend the Moray Local Review Body process, which is what we did.”