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After our joyous victory in the High Court in May when we saved the Bethnal Green Mulberry, I was dismayed when developer Crest Nicholson applied to appeal the decision. Consequently, it was a great relief to get the news this week that their application has been denied by Her Majesty’s Court of Appeal and the Lord Justice of Appeal has confirmed that the matter is now concluded.

The Bethnal Green Mulberry is now safe for generations to come. We saved it twice!

If the appeal had been granted, we would have fought it but we would much rather not fight the same battle twice. You can read the complete statement below from the Lord Justice of Appeal and I was particularly delighted by these paragraphs:

6. In my view the judgement was right. A proper reading of 175c of NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework) demonstrates that the concepts of “wholly exceptional circumstances” and a “suitable compensation strategy” are separate. That is the only proper reading of the words “unless there are wholly exception reasons and a suitable compensation strategy exists.” That result gives the only available meaning to the word “and.” It is something additional. It does not say ”including” or “in particular.”

7. Further and in any event, that reading is entirely consistent with the underlying purpose of this part of the NPPF. That makes it clear that because veteran trees are irreplaceable, the priority is that they are not lost.  It would undermine that policy entirely if developers thought they could get round it by simply paying compensation to cut down veteran trees. If a suitable compensation strategy was always part of the “wholly exceptional reasons,” then veteran trees could always be lost provided that developers could afford to pay compensation.

8. Furthermore, despite what the appellant/IP says, it is not irrelevant that this interpretation of paragraph 175c is supported both by NPPG and Natural England. I also note that the Judge’s view is supported unequivocally by the Secretary of State.

We are grateful to everyone who supported our campaign, especially our patron Dame Judi Dench, those who signed the petition and those who contributed to our legal fund. I am very much looking forward to distributing the cuttings of Shakespeare Mulberry to our donors this autumn.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to our superlative legal team, Richard Harwood QC, Andrew Parkinson and Susan Ring.

In 2040, the Bethnal Green Mulberry will reach its five hundredth birthday and I hope as many of my readers who can make it will be there will join me in raising a glass in Bethnal Green and celebrate this glorious occasion.

Nurses dancing around the Bethnal Green Mulberry

Click here to read my feature in The Evening Standard about the scandal of the Bethnal Green Mulberry

Click here to read my feature in The Daily Telegraph about the scandal of the Bethnal Green Mulberry

Read more here about the Bethnal Green Mulberry

The Bethnal Green Mulberry Verdict

The Fate of the Bethnal Green Mulberry

The Bethnal Green Mulberry

A Letter to Crest Nicholson

A Reply From Crest Nicholson

The Reckoning With Crest Nicholson

A Brief History of London Mulberries