The Secretary of State awarded costs against the applicants for an appeal against the refusal of a large retail and leisure centre in the green belt. The applicants challenged this decision on the basis that, although there was a strong green belt presumption against such schemes, there were special circumstances in this case. The court held that the Secretary of State was entitled to find that the appellants had no reasonable prospect of success and so his discretion to award costs could not be interfered with.
