Campaigners are celebrating after a judge granted them a judicial review of the city council’s sale of a plot of seafront land earlier today.

Whitstable’s Oval Chalet site was sold for £160,000 to Sea Street Developments in December 2014, but protesters claim it could be worth up to 10 times that amount.

The sale prompted a wave of anger and the Whitstable Society launched legal action calling for a judicial review at the start of the year.

They were granted permission by Mr Justice Supperstone to argue the case for all five points put forward by a barrister on behalf of the Whitstable Society today.

The judge accepted an extension of time for the claim so that it can be brought inside 13 months rather than the statutory three months.

Campaigner Julie Wassmer said: “This is brilliant news, a huge victory.

“So much work has been put in by Graham Cox and all at the Whitstable Society, Suzanne Blaustone and Hilary Jones and all at the Oval Chalet Preservation Community Group, Kim Foster, Julia Seath, Cllr Bernadette Fisher and Cllr Ashley Clark and many local people who have supported and donated to this campaign.

“I do believe the judicial review takes place it will means the process will have to be rerun so this matter is far from the done deal that those at Canterbury City Council would have had us all believe.”

A date for a hearing has not been set.

City council spokesman Rob Davies said: “Given the very clear decision of the previous judge that the claim for a judicial review was out of time and that the central point of the campaigners’ case was unarguable, we are disappointed at this ruling and respectfully disagree with it.

“It’s strange that two judges could differ so substantially in their approach.

“All the judge has said is that the campaigners’ five grounds are arguable, but he has not given a view on the strength of these.

“It is regrettable that we will have to waste more taxpayers’ money on this case, but will obviously do so in order to defend our position.”

The decision taken at the appeal yesterday overrules the one taken by Mr Justice Hickinbottom in April who decided that the Whitstable Society did not put forward a good reason for what he described as a “substantial” delay.

This was taken on the same day as councillors approved a planning application to build holiday homes at the site.