A LANDMARK decision in the House of Lords that the Secretary of State's power to 'call in' planning applications does not breach the right to a fair trial has saved the planning system for now, according to property consultants.

The House of Lords overturned the High Court's ruling that the planning system breaches the Human Rights Act.

This means businesses looking for planning permission will be unaffected -- but only for the time being.

"This is clearly a blow to those in the property industry who feel that the Secretary of State has abused his powers over the years by making overtly political decisions on major planning applications which sometimes appear to fly in the face of established policy," a spokesman for one leading North West property consultant.

The Lords have ruled that the decision process is sufficient to satisfy the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and that it is essential for democracy that the Secretary of State does retain some planning control over major planning development projects.

"On the positive side, there will be a sigh of relief that the planning system has not been plunged into chaos. In that scenario, the Government would have been forced to rush through secondary legislation to bring the Planning Act in line with the ECHR, which would have delayed and affected businesses looking for planning permission on a national scale," added the spokesman.

But, according to those in the business, this will not be the last we hear of the human rights issue.

"This decision just relates to the Secretary of States' call-in and recovery powers, which only affects about 230 planning cases a year.

"There are obviously many other aspects which could potentially be challenged," continued the spokesman.

"This ruling is just one of the initial skirmishes in what will be a long -running battle sparked by the Human Rights Act."