A London borough council has been ordered to pay costs of £26,750 in a row over a basement development. The local authority was ordered to make the payment after they accepted that they had issued and prosecuted a defective Breach of Condition notice following alleged breaches of their Traffic Control Management Plan.

Defence lawyers, whose client was a construction company renowned for its high-end basement developments, said the council had acted unlawfully and in a manner that was not cost effective to the tax payers of the borough.

Clive Newberry QC, a barrister with No5 Chambers, said: “It is extremely unusual to get almost £27,000 from a local authority, but I believe the awarding of costs reflects the seriousness of the potential impact of the case on my client’s reputation.”

The case revolved around one of London’s hot topics – luxury, so-called ‘mega basements’. Last year, planners granted permission for a two-storey basement development in one of the capital’s most popular districts, subject to a Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP) condition regulating the flow of construction traffic.

A complaint in May last year from a neighbour about traffic associated with work on the property subsequently led to the construction company being threatened with prosecution for a criminal offence unless they complied with the CTMP.

Mr Newberry said: “Not only was there a breach in the way the notice was prepared and issued, it also failed to specify what the company should do to rectify the situation. We were able to tell the court that the notice was defective, unlawful and should never have been issued.”