We are delighted to report that Westbrook has withdrawn their appeal against Westminster city council's refusal of planning permission for their grandiose Dolphin Square redevelopment scheme.

The appeal was due to start on 22nd of September and was expected to last for at least a week.

Following a final exchange of Statements of Case, Westbrook's legal advisors informed the Planning Inspectorate that the appeal would not go ahead.

Both Westbrook and the City Council were represented by leading firms of planning lawyers in the lead-up to the hearing and interested third parties had also engaged legal assistance. 

Insiders believe that Westbrook's decision may have been prompted by the knowledge that failure might make them liable to massive legal costs if it was held that their planning application had been based on faulty grounds. The legal costs of all parties are estimated to run into high six-figure sums.

Undoubtedly our petition has had a major influence on gathering wide community support for opposition to Westbrook's scheme. We warmly thank all of you who have supported this petition, and especially those of you who made a financial contribution to our campaign.

We also are grateful to the cross-party support that we had from members of the city council with a special thanks to the two ward councillors, Jim Glen and James Spencer, and the former leader of the Labour group, Paul Dimoldenberg, who launched a strong and vocal opposition within the local community.

A new Government White Paper has just been published setting out planning reforms proposed by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, that may allow developers to add two floors to buildings, among other things, without planning permission.

In normal circumstances, we would be closing this petition but in the light of the White Paper we intend to remain vigilant and keep you all informed in case there is a need to continue the fight.

Thank you all!

team@savedolphinsquare.com