Government warned council over 'unlawful' housing vote

The government warned a local authority in Essex hours before a vote that it would consider legal action if it withdrew plans for about 28,000 new homes.

The Conservative-led Basildon Borough Council has been directed by government to submit its local plan by the end of the year.

"Any decision to take steps to withdraw the plan in defiance of the direction would be unlawful," Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook wrote to the council leader.

A council meeting on Monday was delayed by 45 minutes while the motion, which was proposed by the Reform UK Mayor of Basildon Sam Journet, was amended.

Labour's Gavin Callaghan said the handling of the motion was "absolute chaos, a complete mess" and told fellow councillors that voting to withdraw the local plan was "the height of irresponsibility".

Conservative council leader Andy Barnes said: "It is not a motion to withdraw the local plan. We are some way away from that in terms of that being an option."

The original motion called on the council "to withdraw the current local plan from further progression".

It was amended to say it would be withdrawn "if the forthcoming judicial review is not successful, as a last resort".

Journet, who is the Reform group's leader as well as mayor of the district, told councillors that if the judicial review legal action "failed", then the motion stated that "the council should push the nuclear button and withdraw the current local plan from further progression. That is the fall-back position".

Basildon's local plan, which has been worked on for years by different political parties, was put out for a consultation that closed last month.

The council last produced a new local plan, which outlines where housing and development should take place, in 1998.

Barnes told councillors that Essex County Council had found the plan for thousands of new homes to be built up to 2043 to be "unworkable" because of infrastructure.

A county council spokesperson said: "Parts of the draft plan do not yet provide enough evidence that the infrastructure needed to support growth can be delivered.

"In particular, more work is needed to realise the impact of growth on local roads and transport networks. There needs to be a clear and fully costed plan for delivering the required infrastructure."

Basildon Council raised concerns that some local infrastructure projects like improving the A127 had recently been scrapped by the government.

"We need a sound local plan supported by credible evidence about the infrastructure needed to deliver it. That means taking Essex County Council and the NHS seriously," Barnes told councillors.

The Conservatives currently run Basildon Council as a minority administration, following big gains by Reform in the 2026 local elections. The Conservatives have asked the government to extend its deadline for the submission of a local plan from the end of December to the end of March.

In his letter on Monday, Pennycook said the extension "request will be considered carefully".

Labour and Independent councillors had left the chamber and did not vote on the motion.

Before walking out, Independent Kerry Smith told councillors: "It's there - the threat of legal action. This has been rushed and we've not had the opportunity as opposition members to get legal advice from a barrister."

Conservative, Reform UK and Wickford Independent councillors voted for the motion and for an extraordinary meeting to discuss "the future of the emerging local plan".

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