Council to fight government decision on housing plan

A council is to put its case to the government on why pulling its current local plan and starting a new one is the best option.

The proposals are part of West Northamptonshire Council's draft local plan, which could see up to 47,300 new homes built across the area by 2043.

Less than 24 hours after rejecting the plan and deciding to start again, the Reform UK-led authority was told by the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook, it must continue with the existing plan.

Council leader Mark Arnull said the government intervention was "anti-democratic and fundamentally wrong".

At a meeting of full council on Thursday, a report setting out the next steps following the letter from the Labour government was discussed.

In the letter, Pennycook raised concerns that the council had not adopted a plan since its creation in 2021.

He said the rejection would "leave the council exposed to ongoing speculative development as a result of not having an up-to-date plan".

At the meeting, Arnull said: "We will comply with our legal duties, but we won't stay silent.

"West Northamptonshire Council needs an up-to-date plan based on current rules, sound evidence, meaningful consultation and deliverable infrastructure.

"This isn't simply a numbers game driven by Whitehall deadlines. It's about our place and our pride in our place."

Conservative group leader Dan Lister supported the Reform view: "It is the right thing to do, [to] step back, review and understand what the strategic development strategy is going to be.

"However, I will say the new administration has had 18 months to manage to do this they haven't touched it unfortunately.

"I'm not sure why it took to the very last moment to reject the plan."

Jonathan Harris, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said that "no-one welcomes direct government intervention" but added not having a local plan "puts our communities at complete risk".

Sally Keeble, Labour group leader, said: "The decision taken at the planning policy committee meeting was one of the most badly taken decisions I have ever seen, [with] scant regard for the legal or financial implications, no understanding that in binning the report the council would have to start again with building the evidence base."

The authority has until 29 September to respond to the government.

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