Court of Appeal date set for Wrexham Local Development Plan case

The second highest court in England and Wales will decide whether to overturn a High Court judge’s insistence on Wrexham Council voting to adopt its Local Development Plan.

The Court of Appeal will hear the case to overturn the judgement on 15 October in London.

In April and June 2023, a majority of Wrexham councillors voted against their own LDP. This led to a consortium of seven large housing developers going to court to challenge that ruling.

In November 2023,  Judge Eyre quashed the two previous votes and instructed councillors to vote for the plan.

Councillors were then warned that failure to do so would result in a contempt of court that could lead to fines or imprisonment.

Large-scale housing estates

Some of those developers are among those seeking to build large-scale housing estates on the outskirts of Wrexham.

An update on the campaigners’ Crowdjustice site states: “Pursuant to the order by Lewison LJ dated 7th May 2024. This appeal has been listed on an expedited basis to be heard on 15th October 2024. Time estimate 1 Day.”

The Wrexham councillors behind the appeal said: “This is a great step forward and could also mean the Local Development Plan, which was passed after the judgement by Judge Eyre, is paused – what is known as a ‘technical suspension’ – until the hearing is concluded.

“There’s a long way to go but the decision to permit the appeal by Lord Justice Lewison on the basis that it has a ‘real prospect of success and raises an important point of principle’ is grounds for optimism on our part.”

Costs

The judgement is also significant as it could see Wrexham Council recoup the £100,000 costs awarded against it by Eyre.

The council failed to attend court and did not contest the costs award. Councillors backing the appeal have been told by their lawyers that success in the Court of Appeal would mean the £100,000 being recouped by the council.

They added: “In effect, our appeal is doing what the council could and should have done initially – stand up to the developers. This has not been done lightly and the cost to take it to the Court of Appeal has increased significantly.

“We’re looking to raise a further £10,000 to ensure we have the best legal representation possible in October.”

You can support the  community-funded campaign here