Roy Martin QC and Alasdair Burnet of Terra Firma successfully represented North British Windpower Limited against a petition for judicial review seeking the quashing of consent for its major windfarm at Fallago Rig in the Lammermuir hills.  The application was originally recommended for refusal due to objections from the MOD over potential interference with its radar but, following the withdrawal of objections from the MOD and a second public inquiry, it was approved by Ministers.  The petitioners challenged the Ministers’ decision principally on the grounds that Scottish Government representatives had taken part inappropriately in discussions between the developer and the MOD in order to facilitate the withdrawal of the MOD’s objection and had thereby displayed bias and a pre-determination by the Ministers to grant the consent.  They also claimed that there had been no new evidence justifying the re-opening of the inquiry and that the suspensive radar mitigation conditions attached to the consent were ultra vires.  Lord McEwan found that, as the decision was an administrative one and not a judicial or quasi-judicial one, Ministers were entitled to take into account new information after the closing of the first inquiry and that there was no evidence of bias or pre-determination on the part of the Ministers disclosed in the correspondence.  He also found that the suspensive conditions were appropriate and the petitioners were too late to challenge the findings of the second inquiry by way of judicial review as they had requested it take place, had taken part in it, and had allowed the other parties to take part in it, despite being in possession of all the information on which they subsequently sought to rely on in the petition. The judgement is available here.