Listed building consent refused: appeal route and judicial review

Your practice has been retained by a private developer to convert a Grade II listed former Victorian board school in a Bristol conservation area into eight residential apartments. The building is single-phase 1873, brick with stone dressings, slate roof, and has retained much of its original double-height classroom plan and timber roof trusses. It has been vacant for six years and is on the Heritage at Risk Register. Your proposal includes a two-storey rear extension in zinc and brick, subdivision of the largest classrooms with acoustic glazed partitions stopped short of the roof structure to retain reading of the original volumes, and replacement of late-20th-century uPVC windows with painted timber double-glazed units. You submitted a full planning application and a separate listed building consent application under section 16 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. The applications were validated 7 months ago. Three weeks ago both applications were refused at planning committee, against officer recommendation. The reasons for refusal cite "less than substantial harm to the significance of the designated heritage asset" outweighing public benefits, and refer to the conservation officer's report which states that BS 7913:2013 has been "inadequately followed" in the heritage impact assessment. The client wants to appeal. The 6-month appeal deadline under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 will expire in approximately 5 months. The client has also asked whether judicial review of the committee's decision is a viable parallel option, having heard from a friend that committees can be challenged on procedural grounds.