Marsh Farm community group wins right to a Judicial Review over Luton Council rent bill

A Luton community group fighting what it claims is unfair treatment from Luton Council has won the right to have a judicial review into the issue.

Marsh Farm Outreach (MFO) has won permission for the review following a hearing at the High Court in London on Wednesday. It says it has been unfairly hit with a large backdated rent bill and threat of eviction despite volunteers ploughing their own funds and resources into rescuing and restoring the community building – which the group says was at risk of demolition before it took over.

The group says a ‘rent earned’ agreement was in place, with MFO volunteers doing all of the building work needed to rescue and restore the building, with the value of their work credited as rent paid. But Luton Borough Council (LBC) disputed the duration of the agreement and began charging rent.

MFO took the matter to court after the council refused to implement the recommendations of a member of its own Independent Standards Committee. The council had commissioned him to review their handling of a complaint MFO made against

the Director of Property and to find a resolution to the rent dispute.

The case will be now listed for a full one day hearing in the High Court on a date to be fixed.

Marsh Farm Outreach director Rob Goodwin said: “It's highly significant that Marsh Farm Outreach have won permission to proceed to Judicial Review on three grounds: a) procedural unfairness and lack of natural justice b) Failure to take relevant matters into account and c) Failure to provide adequate reasons for making the decision.

“We are disappointed that the council paid for an independent reviewer only to reject the reviewer's findings.

Outreach says the report showed MFO had been treated in a way that was “less than generous”, and proposed a way to put things right, which he felt was in everybody’s interest.

Mr Goodwin said: “[The reviewer] looked in detail at the rent/lease dispute, and his report and recommendations were a sensible way of resolving the dispute between the parties. Having expressed his view that MFO had been treated in a way that was “less than generous” proposed a way to put things right, which he felt was in everybody’s interest.

“Unfortunately council officers made a recommendation not to accept the proposals which we saw as a fair and common sense way of solving the dispute. We are pleased that the case will now be subjected to proper judicial and public scrutiny in the High Court.”

Glenn Jenkins, co-director of Marsh Farm Outreach, said: “I hope that this decision forces a common-sense approach within the council. We have positive relationships with many in Luton Borough Council and we want to get on with the job of serving our diverse communities”.

A spokesman for the council said: “We feel the Marsh Farm Outreach press release is not representative of the situation. They have only been granted permission to make a judicial review. It would therefore be inappropriate for us to comment at this stage.”