Alfred McAlpine Homes has challenged the legality of the local plan system in the High Court, arguing that it is incompatible with the Human Rights Act. The firm says that under the system, local authorities are the judge, jury and prosecution and that the right of appeal is inadequate. <p></p><p>The move comes six months after developer Alconbury failed in an attempt to argue that the secretary of state&amp;’s powers to call in and decide planning applications was also incompatible with the Act because they act as judge and jury. Although the High Court backed Alconbury, the House of Lords rejected the case.</p><p>But that decision left the door open for a challenge against other parts of the planning system. McAlpine has used that option to question the legality of the local plan system, based on the rejection by Swale Council of a 200 home development in Sittingbourne. </p><p>Richard Valentine, partner at law firm Pitmans which represented McAlpine, said the problem was that planning authorities could overrule the findings of the independent inspector. &amp;“You get through the whole process, win the arguments before the independent expert and then you get thwarted by the planning authority.&amp;” He argued that this is incompatible with …