COUNCIL LEADERS have been ordered to take enforcement action against Europe’s largest glass-making and bottling factory – built without planning permission near Chester in England.

Construction of Quinn Glass Ltd’s factory at Elton was completed in 2005 but there is still no planning consent in place, London’s High Court heard.

Judge David Mole QC yesterday agreed with a local resident that it would be “disgraceful” if the Irish-owned firm was allowed to escape the consequences of the multimillion-pound risk it took.

“It would be a betrayal by the planning authorities of their responsibilities and a disgrace upon the proper planning of this country,” he said in his judgment.

Judge Mole ordered local planners to issue enforcement notices against Quinn Glass within 14 days and directed that they must require the removal of all the Quinn Glass buildings put up without planning consent and the “cessation of activities” on the site.

Quinn Glass can appeal the enforcement notices to communities secretary Hazel Blears. She also has the power to grant retrospective planning consent.

The case was brought to court by Quinn Glass’s trade rival, Ardagh Glass Ltd, which is also Irish-owned but Jersey-based.

Ardagh argued that the factory’s presence is a violation of both domestic and European law, which demands that planning consent must not be given for such projects without first carrying out a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment.

Ardagh argued that, not only should enforcement action now be taken, but planners at the local authorities concerned should be forbidden from considering Quinn Glass’s latest retrospective planning application.

Judge Mole refused to go that far, giving Quinn glass a chance to persuade Ms Blears that the enforcement notices should be quashed and planning consent granted.

That could only happen after a detailed public inquiry at which the environmental impact must be carefully considered.

Judge Mole said he “anticipated” that Quinn Glass would now appeal to Ms Blears, but added that it was vital to make clear that a developer would “gain no advantage by pre-emptive development and that such development will be permitted only in exceptional circumstances”.

In considering Quinn Glass’s appeal, the judge said Ms Blears, in order to uphold EU law, would have to consider “whether granting permission would give the developer an advantage he ought to be denied, whether the public can be given an equal opportunity to form and advance their views and whether the circumstances can be said to be exceptional”.