Heather Burning Judicial Review Update: Permission Hearing Listed for 27th January

We are writing to provide a factual update on the judicial review proceedings concerning the new heather burning regulations.

The High Court has now listed a permission hearing for 27th January. This is an important procedural step in the judicial review process and marks the first occasion on which the Court will consider the case.

What is a permission hearing?

Judicial review cases proceed in stages. Before a full hearing can take place, the Court must decide whether the claim is arguable and should be allowed to proceed. That decision is taken at the permission stage.

At the permission hearing, the Court will consider written and oral submissions from both sides and decide whether the claim meets the legal threshold to move forward. No final determination on the lawfulness of the regulations is made at this stage.

What the case is about

The claim has been brought by the Moorland Association and individual landowners. It challenges the way in which the 2025 Regulations were made, including the process followed by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

As is standard in judicial review proceedings, the Court is not being asked to decide whether one policy outcome is preferable to another. The focus is instead on whether the decision-making process complied with public law requirements, including duties relating to consultation, evidence and the matters that were taken into account.

What happens next?

At the permission hearing, the Court may:

• grant permission for the claim to proceed to a full hearing;

• refuse permission; or

• grant permission on some grounds but not others.

If permission is granted, the case will move on to a substantive hearing at a later date, at which the Court will consider the issues in full.

What we can and cannot say

Because this is an active court case, it would be inappropriate to comment on the merits of the arguments in detail, or to speculate about the outcome. The Court will determine the issues independently, on the basis of the evidence and submissions before it.

What we can say is that all parties have now completed the initial stages of the process, including the exchange of pleadings and evidence, and that the case has reached the point where the Court will decide whether it should proceed further.

Why this matters

The regulations at issue have significant implications for upland land management, wildfire risk, peatland policy and rural livelihoods in England. Judicial review exists to ensure that decisions with wide-ranging consequences are taken lawfully, transparently and on a proper evidential footing.

We will continue to keep members and interested parties informed of key procedural developments as the case progresses.

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