From Leamington Courier:
Coventry Airport has been found to have acted unlawfully in building its Thomsonfly terminal - but it will be allowed to stay.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott made the ruling today (Friday) following a six-month inquiry held last year.
The airport's managers had insisted the terminal did not need planning permission - but Warwick District Council disagreed, prompting a bitter dispute that cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds.Mr Prescott has now decided that the district council was correct on that matter, but has nevertheless granted permission for the building to remain.
So it was an illegal development, the council were quite right to enforce against it, its cost taxpayers a fortune to do so, but now its got retrospective planning permission, everyones happy. Its a funny old world...