Welsh Government deal will preserve Wrexham planning powers
This meant planning officers and councillors would still have the legal right to refuse applications and enforce statutory obligations like the provision of play areas, shops and schools in larger residential developments.
But next week the Senedd will debate the Legislation (Procedure, Publication and Repeals) (Wales) Bill. Among the proposals in the bill is the scrapping of all existing, out-of-date UDPs.
In Wrexham, where there is no valid LDP, that would mean no adopted legal framework for the county borough. That could create a planning free-for-all, forcing the council to justify every individual planning refusal based on 'material planning considerations'.
After talks with the Welsh Government however, Wrexham Council leader Cllr Mark Pritchard says an agreement has been reached to avoid this potentially chaotic situation.
"There's been a commitment from the Welsh Government that that won't happen," he said. "There'll be an amendment to the upcoming legislation which will allow the UDP in Wrexham to stand.
"I'd like to thank the Welsh Government for taking a common sense approach. It tells me that they're genuinely working with us, not against us. I do believe there is a way forward here for the betterment of Wrexham."
Last month the Welsh Government finally dropped its legal challenge to Wrexham Council's refusal to adopt the new LDP having been through the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
Read more:
"Landmark decision" as councillors win court appeal over Wrexham's LDP
'Wrexham remains the only Local Authority not to have an LDP'
Welsh Government urged to work with council after LDP left 'dead in the water'
Councillors who opposed the LDP, led by Plaid Cymru Cllr Marc Jones, were victorious but the result forced Wrexham to fall back temporarily on it's older, outdated UDP. A replacement plan has still not been agreed.
"We're hoping to work in true partnership with Welsh Government to resolve the issue," he said. "I felt I was pushed into a corner by what went on here, I was very uncomfortable with it but we have to move on.
"I'm just disappointed that we had to go through all that because it was very painful.
"I put a lot on the line here - if we had lost, I'd have had to step down. It became about more than the LDP, it became about democracy, freedom of speech and what we can say in that chamber.
"I pushed it only as much as I felt we needed to. Look at the standards on the wall of the council chamber. The Dunkirk standards are there. As we mark 80 years since VE Day, people from Wrexham and across this country - across the world - lost their lives for me and anybody in every chamber to have freedom of speech and freedom to exercise democratic process.
"You can't be threatened that you will go to jail or that there will be legal prosecutions or a cost put against your house for exercising your right as an elected member to vote. You have three options - to support, to vote against or to abstain.
"But I'm a realist, we now have to find a solution and we will find a solution. I do believe the Welsh Government are prepared to work with us and work alongside us and that's good news for me. Those dark days are behind us."
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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
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Wales Online
4 hours ago
- Wales Online
UK Government rules out giving something people in Wales want
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Scotsman
a day ago
- Scotsman
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Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Head teachers are being 'hung out to dry' by a lack of updated and specific guidance on single-sex spaces in schools, campaigners have claimed. Just days before the new term begins, the Scottish Government is still not in a position to issue clarified instructions on how to manage toilets and changing facilities. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Scottish Government is under pressure to issue updated guidance on toilets in schools. 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Members of For Women Scotland celebrate the Supreme Court ruling that the word 'woman' the 2010 Equality Act refers to a biological woman (Picture: Lucy North) | PA 'There is little excuse now to procrastinate - they must withdraw all unlawful guidance and ensure that safeguards are robust. 'If they don't, we expect that many more cases will come before the courts, at increasing expense to the public.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A Scottish Government spokeswoman confirmed it was still 'considering' whether guidance requires to be updated. She said local authorities had statutory responsibility for the school estate, including provision of toilets. 'As with any significant legal or policy developments, we consider whether guidance requires to be updated to reflect recent legal decisions and this consideration is underway,' the spokeswoman said. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Lady Ross KC said she would issue a court order making legal obligations on Scottish state schools clear after parents brought a judicial review over their concerns around transgender policies at Earlston primary school. Kath Murray, of the policy think-tank Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, said: 'Local authorities are relying on Scottish Government schools guidance, which continues to promote gender self-identification. 'After the For Women Scotland ruling and Earlston Primary school case, which specifically clarified that schools must provide single sex facilities, it is hard, if not impossible, to understand why the Government has not withdrawn this.' When asked in June by The Scotsman if she was concerned about schools being left to make their own decisions on single-sex toilets, Ms Gilruth said: 'As you'll be aware, in relation to the Supreme Court ruling, we are working across government. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Jenny Gilruth Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills meets pupils receiving exam results at King's Park Secondary School | Getty Images 'Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville is leading that work and the EHRC [Equality and Human Rights Commission] has launched a consultation. We will respond to that in due course. But we have published updated guidance, which is shared with all local authorities, and we are engaging directly with the EHRC.' At least six schools in Aberdeenshire, the Borders and Shetland, which previously only offered gender-neutral toilets, had previously said they would be creating single-sex facilities on the back of the Supreme Court verdict. Meanwhile, Police Scotland has issued updated guidance to its officers about single-sex spaces on the police estate. New rules say all toilets and changing facilities must be used on the basis of biological sex. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton said: 'As we continue to navigate this complex and sensitive area of policing, the wellbeing of our officers and staff remains an absolute priority.' Ms Paton went on to say the situation may be 'difficult and upsetting', but urged staff to be 'patient and kind' to one another. The force came under fire in June for guidelines that allow transgender suspects to request officers of different sexes to frisk various parts of their body. The advice — designed to accommodate people who have not completed a full surgical transition — would mean detainees could ask for a woman to search their top half and a man to search below the waist.
