Local Development Plan vote is “test of democracy versus developers” say Plaid Cymru

Tomorrow’s re-run vote by Wrexham Council on its Local Development Plan is a “fundamental test of democracy versus big housing developers”, according to local Plaid Cymru councillors.

Plaid Cymru group leader Marc Jones said: “Six weeks ago, we were told we were free to vote whichever way we wanted. Six weeks on and we’re being told that our decision, the way we voted, was unlawful.

Cllr Jones went on to detail how despite requests for further information councillors ‘have been kept in the dark’, “We’ve been told that an unnamed group of housing developers have taken out a legal challenge but we have not been shown the details of that challenge. Neither have we seen the legal advice the council has had or its responses. Elected councillors have been kept in the dark and been told to come back to the Guildhall – like naughty children – to vote the correct way.

“The Local Development Plan, as Plaid Cymru has argued consistently for the past decade, is fundamentally flawed. If it is deemed sound that’s because someone has decided that ‘sound’ means ignoring community objections, councillors’ objections, Census returns and a changing reality of population decrease not increase. At a time when the need for genuinely affordable housing has never been greater, the Planning Inspectorate actually halved the number of affordable homes in the draft plan.

“Given that the 15-year plan has just five years to run, let’s have a look where we currently stand. During the lifetime of this plan – which is meant to be from 2013 to 2028 – land was allocated for 7,700 homes. Of these, 2800 houses have already been built or have planning permission. Another 3,500 are already in the planning system pipeline and so will more than likely be built. That’s 6,300 towards the overall target, that was based on a 10% increase in the population not a 2% decline.

“When circumstances alter so drastically, then so should targets. You don’t travel on a road that’s closed just because an out-of-date map shows it’s open. The Welsh Government seems to have wilfully decided to stick to their flawed projections and try to force this plan on Wrexham to prove a point. It had a chance to withdraw this plan once local democracy had spoken in this chamber on April 29th. But instead it’s sat on its hands while large housing developers have come together to take this council to court.

“That doesn’t sound like democracy to me. It sounds very much like threatening and bullying.

“So this is a fundamental battle between developers and democracy. Who decides the future of our communities, our playing fields and green spaces. Who decides on whether to Tarmac over the Best and Most Valuable agricultural land in the borough to build more executive houses? Who decides that urban sprawl is better than open countryside?

“Sometimes councillors get it wrong and, when we do, we can be voted out of office by the people. Can you vote out a developer with unlimited legal and financial resources?

“Our role is to challenge and call out bad decisions. And that includes when the law is an ass – laws can be changed because they’re not fit for purpose and I would say that we have a duty to challenge this particular law because it is not working for the people and communities of Wrecsam.”

Cllr Jones added: “One final point is to answer those claims that, without an LDP, we will have no defence against speculative developers. If that’s the case, why did those same developers take this council to court to impose an LDP? This LDP suits them fine – it enables huge developments on either side of the town. Those two huge housing estates – both almost double the size of Gresford or Johnstown – will need cars to access work, leisure and shopping. Can the Welsh Government explain how this helps reduce emissions on our roads?”

As we have previously reported, Council Officers are telling councillors in the report before the meeting, “Following the decision at Council on 19 April, a Letter Before Claim was received relating to this decision. This is the first stage of an application to the High Court for Judicial Review. Judicial Review is a challenge to public law decision making and is a procedure for the court to examine the decision of a public body to check whether it acted lawfully and fairly.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Following receipt of the Letter Before Claim, advice was sought from an experienced planning/administrative law barrister. The advice received is unequivocally clear: the judicial review claim has overwhelming merit and the Council has undoubtedly acted unlawfully. Counsel’s advice concludes that there are no grounds whatsoever for defending the judicial review claim. On this basis and in order to minimise costs as far as possible, the Council has no plausible option but to concede that an unlawful decision had been made on 19 April.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Councillors are advised, by specific senior officers, “During the LDP process and subsequent judicial review proceedings we have been advised by three separate legal external sources, all of which are experts in planning/administrative law. All have advised that the LDP must be adopted by Council. While fully respecting the democratic process of the Council and that full Council will take a democratic decision, given that Council is subject to the law and to achieve the best financial value, the professional advice from the Chief Executive, Chief Officer Planning and Economy, Chief Officer Governance and Customer and Chief Officer Finance and ICT has to be to adopt the LDP.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The meeting will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, at 4pm in the Guildhall, webcast for all to view. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​