On October 4 following a reading of the papers, Justice Irwin refused an application by Dr Michael Pelling for judicial review of the decision by the Home Office to site a Police Mustering Briefing and Deployment Centre (MBDC)on the Fairground Site area of Wanstead Flats .

As a result of Mr Justice Irwin's ruling, Dr Pelling sought a Renewal Hearing (i.e. an appeal to carry on with the application). The presentation (Friday 25 November) at the Royal Courts of Justice in front of Mr Justice Bean was to prepare for a full hearing in December.

Dr Pelling asked for disclosure from the Home Office and the police of the ‘alternative sites’ they had identified in the event that the LRO is overturned – this was refused. But he was allowed to extend the grounds of his objections.

Mr Justice Bean also rejected Dr Pelling's arguments against a ‘rolled-up’ hearing, which would mean seeking a renewal of the judicial review and, if successful, holding the judicial review itself on the same day, December 5.

The main reason was that the matter could not wait to be resolved to the New Year as the police either had to have the certainty of the current MBDC plans, or time to find an alternative site if the JR application was successful.

This makes Dr Pelling's job considerably harder because of his term-time family commitments, but he has managed to secure an assurance of some protection against costs that might eventually be awarded against him (The judge cited the extreme delays experienced with the Legal Services Commission)

THE NEXT STEP

The combined hearing is scheduled to take place at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 5 December, back at the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand . Further details will be shared as soon as they are available

One way or another, this will determine the outcome of the legal challenge against the Home Office in defence of keeping Wanstead Flats open to the public and only used for the purposes set out in the 1878 Epping Forest Act.

It is essential that as many people as possible come along to demonstrate the level of local opposition to the planned Olympics police operations base in East London