The High Court in Belfast has blocked a planned £40m John Lewis store development on the basis of procedural failings by Lord Rooker, former Northern Ireland environment minister.
It upheld a challenge by Belfast and Lisburn Chambers of Commerce, Multiplex and AM Developments to the planning permission given for the shopping development at Sprucefield, outside Lisburn.
The court ruled that John Lewis’s prestige should not have swayed the government when it awarded the original planning approval.
References: Financial Times 11/05/06 page 4
