A SPECIAL Cabinet meeting was called by Monmouthshire County Council this week as a judge at a Judicial Review regarding the proposed livestock market at Bryngwyn found that a full hearing should be granted on one of the five grounds put before him.

Since planning permission was granted by Monmouthshire County Council for a replacement cattle market at High House Farm, Bryngwyn, local land owner Jack Hanbury Tenison has fought the decision by taking it to a Judicial Review.

MCC's Steve Greenslade told a meeting of the council held late last week that a preliminary court hearing on April 20 before Sir Michael Harrison gave leave to proceed to a full hearing on only one of the grounds cited.

"A preliminary hearing found that on one ground a planning condition should have been imposed on the grant of planning permission which required visibility splays to be both provided and thereafter maintained.

"As part of the consent the splays were shown clearly on the approved plans and could be constructed either within the site as owned by the council or within the public highway, for which the council is, of course, the Highways Authority."

As a result of the ruling a special cabinet meeting was due to take place on Wednesday to 'authorise the marking of a unilateral undertaking under seal, providing the council will beneficially occupy the High House Farm site until visibility splays are provided and thereafter maintain the visibility splays to ensure that no vegetation or other obstruction above one metre in height is allowed within them'.

A report to MCC's cabinet states, " Whilst the council as developers would provide and maintain the splays as normal best practice, in order to overcome any possible future problems should the land be sold and in order to overcome the allegations in the ground of challenge, it would be appropriate for cabinet to give a unilateral undertaking under seal. This provides two obligations which will be given by the council as landowner and as Highway Authority.

"The obligations are, not to beneficially occupy the High House Farm market development until the visibility splays set out in the planning permission are provided...

"The purpose of the undertaking is to emphasise the council's commitment to providing and maintaining the visibility splays and to ensure that those obligations remain binding on any subsequent owners of the land.

"If cabinet is minded to approve this undertaking the sealed document will be submitted to the High Court in Cardiff as part of the council's substantive argument as to why the Judicial Review Challenge should fail."

The four grounds that were dismissed by the hearing were:

• That a transfer of funds from the Highways budget of £10,000 for transport issues was inappropriately taken into account in the granting of Planning Consent,

• that there was a failure to take into account other sites

•that there was a failure to require submission of a travel plan

•that the consent failed to impose a condition restricting the holding of markets to three days per week.