The decision is a victory for the association The Good Earth – and simultaneously has consequences for many municipalities.
Associations focused on issues concerning the exploitation of agricultural land have the right to appeal decisions on detailed plans, in cases where the decisions can clearly be related to the protection of agricultural land. The Supreme Court states that according to the Planning and Building Act, the interest in protecting agricultural land from exploitation must be considered in decisions on detailed plans.
The Supreme Court emphasizes that the right to appeal in such cases only applies to associations that are not profit-driven and have existed for a certain period of time.
In the case on Öland, it was Borgholm Municipality that decided to expand an existing small industrial and commercial area, which would mean that more agricultural land would be taken into use. The Good Earth appealed, but both the Land and Environment Court and the Land and Environment Court of Appeal at the Svea Court of Appeal considered that they did not have the right to appeal, since the association's main purpose is not nature conservation or environmental protection.
