The development first got planning permission in 2006, and the controversial Green-led council endorsed it again seven years later after construction had been held up by the recession. Last June, Mrs Justice Patterson, dismissed the protesters’ case “on all grounds”, and said it should have been brought earlier, before so much money had been spent on-site. But in December another judge gave them permission to progress towards seeking a judicial review. The date for the hearing, due “as soon as possible” this year, has yet to be set. But it should put the Green Party – whose membership has just overtaken both Ukip and the Liberal Democrats – very much on the spot.