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Rebel councillors who tried to block Local Development Plan win case at Court of Appeal

20 Dec 2024 5 minute read
Marc Jones (Centre) and other Wrexham councillors outside the Court of Appeal

Martin Shipton

The Court of Appeal has found in favour of Wrexham councillor Marc Jones, supported by 28 other members of the authority, in one of two cases over a controversial Local Development Plan that allocated open countryside for thousands of new houses.

The judgment quashes the High Court judgment of Mr Justice Eyre made in December 2023 and dismisses the controversial judicial review brought by developers seeking to force through a local plan rejected in April and June 2023 by a cross-party majority of Wrexham councillors.

Three Court of Appeal judges including the Senior President of Tribunals in London heard legal submissions in October from barristers Andrew Parkinson and Barney McCay, acting for Cllr Jones, on behalf of councillors who had refused to support the plan.

Cllr Jones was up against barristers including two KCs representing the Welsh Government, Wrexham council and six major housing developers who opposed the appeal.

Unlawful advice

The decision means that councillors had been given unlawful advice by the council’s monitoring officer to the effect that they had no discretion to reject the plan when it came before the Full Council in December 2023 and could face prison, fines, seizure of assets or Ombudsman complaints if they voted to reject it again.

Wrexham council had chosen not to defend the developers’ judicial review when the case was heard by Mr Justice Eyre and had then been ordered to pay £100,000 in costs which Mr Jones has tried to recover to restore to the public purse.

By contrast, when the case was before the Court of Appeal in October, Wrexham council did send a senior barrister to argue against their own councillors, thereby incurring further costs.

‘Major breakthrough’

Speaking after the judgement was handed down, Cllr Jones, who leads the Plaid Cymru group on Wrexham council and is Plaid’s national chair, said: “This is a landmark decision – it’s a major breakthrough in ensuring local councils are able to have the say in what happens in their communities. The arguments put forward by our opponents tried to say that we had no choice – that we had to vote for this flawed plan regardless of the damage it would do to Wrexham.

“The judgment, by the second highest court in Wales and England, is very clear – local councils in Wales do have a choice when it comes to adopting these plans. To have a vote with no choice is not democracy. Last year we saw three votes on the LDP where councillors were told they could go to jail or face fines for voting in a certain way. This was the legal advice councillors were given.

“Councillors were advised they had no choice on all three occasions where they had a vote. The Court of Appeal has made it clear that they did and the council could have contested the Developers’ High Court Judicial Review. In choosing not to contest that court case while employing a barrister to contest the Court of Appeal case, those making decisions on behalf of the council have – either wittingly or unwittingly – sided with the developers and the Welsh Government.”

‘Independent legal advice’

Cllr Jones said the judgement also confirmed that councillors seeking to represent their communities and the county borough as a whole were not given the correct advice: “They were denied legal advice that had been obtained by senior officers and this left the leaders of three groups (which between them made up the majority of councillors) with no option but to seek independent legal advice,” he said.

“That independent legal advice, now confirmed by the Court of Appeal, was that there was a case to be made on behalf of the council not to adopt the LDP under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. The failure to do so should be a consideration for the council in moving forward.”

Cllr Jones added: “I’d like to thank everyone who supported us – whether with kind words or donations to the Crowdfunder that paid for the legal team. I’d also like to thank that legal team who have worked for the past year in preparing this case. Our barrister Andrew Parkinson in particular did a great job in arguing the case against three experienced barristers.

“All the councillors who made a stand during this process all deserve thanks too – this is a victory for local democracy because people had made it clear that huge new housing estates without new facilities were not acceptable. That’s especially true when we have 1600 empty properties and 3,000 homes already granted planning permission in the borough but not yet built.

“What does this judgement mean in practice? It should mean that Welsh Government ministers recognise the legal process and respect the two votes not to adopt the plan in April and June 2023. They should also disregard the December 2023 vote because it was made under duress. They can do that and start talking to the council about how we make this plan work for Wrexham people – or they’ll face a further legal challenge.

“Thousands of people have supported the campaign against the two new super-estates being proposed on Cefn Rd and Ruthin Rd – the two new estates amount to 3,100 new houses on open countryside. This is a victory for them as much as anyone else but should also send a very clear message to Labour in Wales and London – siding with big housing corporations against local communities is not a good look.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We will consider the Court of Appeal’s judgment and its implications carefully.”


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robin campbell
robin campbell
16 days ago

Da iawn! People with a bit of backbone. Great response from Welsh Government as usual.

Adrian
Adrian
16 days ago

The Cardiff Bay laughing academy and its witless occupants lay bare their incompetence and mendacity once again.

Ap Kenneth
Ap Kenneth
16 days ago

The councillors were very brave as potentially they were facing personal consequences. The decision came down to the meaning of a three letter word “may” and what parliament meant by this. Always read the small print.

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