Consultative Decision Making & Delayed Take Off - R (on the application of Hillingdon Borough and others) v Secretary of State for Transport

On 26 March the High Court gave judgment in the case of R (on the application of Hillingdon Borough and others) v Secretary of State for Transport - a judicial review of the Government's decision to continue its support for the construction of a third runway at Heathrow Airport. The subject is one of some controversy, not least because in the run up to a general election, the main parties remain divided on the issue.

The High Court held that the Secretary of State had failed to take into account material considerations when making his decision. The judgment is yet another example of Government decisions being held to be unlawful due to failures surrounding the consultation process. Wragge & Co's Public Law and Regulation team examines the judgment in an expert analysis.