A34 flyover campaigners lose legal challenge over demolition plan
Campaigners have failed in their legal challenge against a council’s plan to demolish a flyover close to the 2022 Commonwealth Games athletes village.
They sought for permission to apply for a judicial review into the plan to demolish the A34 flyover in Perry Barr after Birmingham City Council forged ahead with the project.
The scheme is part of the council’s planned £500m works in Perry Barr in the run up to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
This includes the development of the Athletes Village and the redevelopment of Alexander Stadium, and the council has said the scheme is “absolutely critical” to the redevelopment of the area.
A petition objecting to the demolition of the flyover gained nearly 10,000 signatures last year led by the A34 Safety Action Group.
In March, Annette Pereira, Owen O’Neill and Dr Desmond Jadoo applied to the High Court for permission to seek judicial review of the council’s decision to approve the scheme in December.
They objected on the grounds of a lack of a safety assessment, financial assessment, meaningful consultation or equalities impact assessment.
The High Court previously denied a separate request from the group for an injunction to halt works, which the city council has previously said are due to start later this year.
In the court’s latest decision, His Honour Judge David Cooke rejected each of the group’s grounds for objection.
The judge said the campaigners’ objections on the grounds of a lack of meaningful consultation and equalities impact were “hopeless on the facts”.
The judge said it would not be “appropriate” to make a costs restriction order, and ordered the claimants to pay the city council £4,000 in costs.
Mr O’Neill said: “We feel it is a miscarriage of justice. The concerns of 10,000 people have been swept under the carpet and not given a public airing.”
Mr O’Neill said they intended to put in place an online crowd funding campaign in order to pay the costs.
The city council's transport chief, Councillor Waseem Zaffar, said: “We are pleased with the decision of the court. It entirely justifies our position to robustly defend the claim which we have consistently said was without merit.
“Our focus now will be on delivering a highways improvement scheme that makes Perry Barr the best connected district in Birmingham.”
