6 days ago
Second-chance for Wrexham Planning Committee to rule on 600-home plan
The last time the application was on the agenda was two weeks ago, when the planning committee meeting collapsed after two-and-a-half minutes due to not enough members attending.
After the UK Supreme Court ruling that left Wrexham's Local Development Plan (LDP) unadopted, the scheme – on land that was included in the LDP – was left in limbo.
When the plans first came before the committee in 2020, councillors raised objections that the site lay outside the settlement area in the Green Barrier.
Once it was included in the LDP, that objection was withdrawn as the land was formally included in the council's development plans.
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Now, with moves afoot to erase the LDP entirely and an inquiry by Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) into the development due on September 29, Wrexham Council has a second chance to determine the application and submit a formal response to the inquiry.
In the report the committee will consider officers have recommended that Wrexham Council could not successfully defend an appeal if it reinstated its opposition to the development.
It also advises if they go against that advice and restore their objections, the committee will need to nominate two councillors to give evidence before the inquiry.
According to the report: 'Although the unadopted LDP no longer has the status of development plan, the Development Management Manual (DMM)advises that the weight to be attached to an unadopted LDP will depend on the stage it has reached.
'Local Planning Authorities need to carefully consider the underlying evidence to an unadopted LDP.
'In the event that members determine to reinstate one or more of the reasons for refusal, members will nominate up to two members of the Planning Committee to act as expert witnesses at the inquiry.'
