Council Leader calls for fresh start on new Local Development Plan

“The sky does not fall in” as Wrexham has had a Local Development Plan fall before, the Council Leader has said.

You can read our full meeting report here from Wednesday evening: Wrexham Council throw out 2013 to 2028 Local Development Plan in tight vote ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Reaction from the key LDP vote has kept coming, and we caught up with Council Leader Mark Pritchard to discover his thoughts on the outcome, and what happens now.

Cllr Pritchard said, “I’m really pleased the Local Development Plan went through the democratic process and the decision was made by Full Council, and it was a cross party decision. Now we have to accept democracy and move on.

“I was challenged earlier on in the process, but I said that all we were doing is following due process, going through the process that we have to on deposit, going out for consultation, everything was followed to the letter. We all knew that we would eventually end up in the council chamber and the democratic process would decide the outcome. That has happened, and I am really pleased with that.”

We asked about the push back against council officers that had been on display in recent weeks over the LDP and if he thought democracy was strong in Wrexham, he said, “If you go back to what I said at Full Council, we are elected members, we are politicians, councillors, elected via the democratic process by our constituents who are the residents of Wrexham. The 56 councillors represent Wrexham and we are their voice. And last night, the voice of the majority of people.”

“I believe democracy is in a good place in Wrexham after the vote. I think if the vote would have gone the other way, I would have had some concerns.”

“It is out there in the public domain, a lot of people were talking about it, that they felt that there was a lot of pressure being put on elected members. The good thing is, whether there was pressure on was not, it didn’t work, because obviously the members were strong enough to vote it out.

“I said at the meeting that officers are public servants, they work across Wales and across the United Kingdom as a public servants. There’s a line between operational running of services and political decision making. I think that’s so important that the line remains there. Neither should cross it, we elected members should never get involved in operations and officers shouldn’t get involved in the political arena.”

With the LDP not adopted we asked what is happening now, and if Welsh Government had been in contact.

Cllr Pritchard said, “What happens is next is we will formally let the Welsh Government know that the Local Development Plan was refused and then it goes over to them. As leader for the council and other elected members will speak to Welsh Government and ask them to work with us to move forward to find a solution and start again.”

We asked what an ideal outcome would be for him, with Cllr Pritchard noting he was answering this point as a councillor not the council leader, “For me personally, that we start again. We look at all the areas that we had issues, overdevelopment, population statistics, gypsies and traveller sites, strategic sites one and two, phosphates, schools, provision for health and well being. We all know there are issues with surgeries, dentists, and as I said on the night, anything to do with health.

“There were big numbers of house building, we didn’t have the infrastructure and we certainly didn’t have the schools, a lot of this didn’t even come into the debate.

“I think we’re in a good place in Wrexham, because what we do, we start again, and we work through it to get a plan which is fit for purpose.

“I think a lot of people do forget the Local Development Plan One was refused by the Inspectors, so this is nothing new, we’ve been here before. The sky doesn’t fall in, we carry on and we will move forward, that is how we do things.

“One thing stuck in my mind from the debate, things were thrown in ‘we are the only council in Wales not to have one’ and ‘we should push it through’. You should never push anything. If something isn’t right, don’t push it.

“It did worry me a little bit that they were saying, ‘Well, this is the best we can do’. We can always do better. Remember, this would have been with us until 2028. If it is wrong, don’t take it forward. That’s how I see it.”

You can read our full meeting report here from Wednesday evening: Wrexham Council throw out 2013 to 2028 Local Development Plan in tight vote ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​