Opposition to major homes scheme puts councillors in 'uncharted waters'

Plans for hundreds of new homes have prompted major concern in one local authority, as Local democracy reporter Alec Doyle reports

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COUNCIL will defend its opposition to plans for 600 new homes, against the advice of planning officers.

The application for land south of Holt Road is due to go to appeal on September 29, but at a meeting of Wrexham County Borough Council's planning committee this week, senior planning officer Matthew Phillips said no-one within the council's planning department could represent the council in front of Planning and Environment Decisions Wales inspectors.

What's more, the council has so far approached six independent planning consultants to support councillors with the defence, none of whom have been willing to take on the task, with eight days to go until the authority has to confirm its representatives.

“I would be in a difficult position defending that, as it would go contrary to the Royal Town Planning Institute’s professional charter, which says officers shouldn't try to defend a position contrary to their professional recommendation in an inquiry,” said Mr Phillips.

When the application for the homes on land south of Holt Road came before the council, there were three reasons it was refused: the site being outside the settlement boundary and within the green barrier as detailed in Wrexham's now-outdated Unitary Development Plan (UDP); the loss of best and most versatile (BMV) agricultural land; and concerns about health infrastructure and capacity.