Countryside campaigners have been barred from bringing a second judicial review to the High Court over plans to turn a historic greenbelt estate into a luxury golf course, hotel and spa.

The Cherkley Campaign has been fighting a costly legal battle against the £50m development at Cherkley Court, the old home of press baron Lord Beaverbrook, near Leatherhead, which it believes will seriously damage the environment.

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Yesterday the High Court refused permission for the campaign to launch a second judicial review over the council’s approval of a Landscape and Ecology Management Plan linked to the development.

Addressing ecologists and conservationist groups, campaigner Kristina Kenworthy said: "I would like to apologise as a director of the Cherkley Campaign for failing to get this judicial review before the High Court.

"I feel we have let all the ecologists in Surrey badly down and I feel very sorry about this."

The campaign won the first judicial review at the High Court after challenging Mole Valley District Council’s decision to grant planning permission to developer Longshot Cherkley Court in 2012.

But the Court of Appeal later overturned this ruling, reinstated planning permission and ordered the campaigners to pay costs to the council and developer. The Supreme Court has not yet decided whether to let them appeal.

Longshot Cherkley Court today welcomed the High Court’s decision to refuse permission for the campaign to launch another judicial review.

Its statement said: "The judge, Mr Justice Jay, analysed the campaign’s grounds, but decided that they were without merit, out of time and an abuse of process, having already been argued in the previous judicial review.

"In addition, the judge awarded costs to both Mole Valley District Council and Longshot Cherkley Court Limited."

It added: "We are delighted with the decision, as we always believed this to be a claim that was totally without merit. We hope this will put an end to the matter and look forward to focusing on our commitment to deliver a word class facility."

Tim Harrold, chairman of the Cherkley Campaign said: "Cherkley Campaign is obviously disappointed by yesterday's ruling, because it was clear that something had gone wrong with the decision-making on the Landscape and Ecology Management Plan, which came after the planning permission was granted.

"However, in the time available at yesterday's short hearing, the court could not appreciate that, for example, highly relevant information was provided to the planning authority by the developers after the decision to approve the golf course had been made.

"It remains our view that there was a serious breach of European law and that the courts should look at this point.

"Yesterday is far from the end of the road on this aspect of the case, which focuses particularly on the 40 Acre Field, part of the golf course site which is of far greater ecological value, adjacent to an SSSI and European designated Special Area of Conservation, than was ever said to be the case by the developers before the grant of permission.

"We are considering our options with our legal advisers.

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"In so doing we are so mindful of the efforts of Surrey Wildlife Trust, Butterfly Conservation, Surrey Botanical Society, National Trust Box Hill Estate, Friends of Boxhill and all those who tried to raise the alarm with Mole Valley District Council on the key ecological issues that were overlooked or denied by the developers at the time of the grant of the planning permission and only came to light in a way that Mole Valley were prepared to consider after the event."

Andy Smith, Surrey Branch Director, Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: "It is a pity that the court did not seem to have a full grasp of the issues - a longer hearing could have enabled them to come to a different decision.

"Nevertheless, even with this disappointment it is not the end of the line as far as the campaign to save the Leatherhead Downs is concerned, and there is every possibility that the Supreme Court will wish to take a serious look at the Cherkley case because of the precedents it sets and its national importance in terms of local planning and environmental protection."

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Forty Acre Field on the estate

The council was asked for a comment on yesterday's ruling but has yet to respond.