Wexham councillors have once again voted against a Local Development Plan and may face judicial proceedings as a result.

During the meeting yesterday, June 14, councillors were warned that if they didn’t vote for the plan, that it would be considered ‘unlawful.’

In total, 30 voted against the plan, 24 voted for it, and one abstained.

Producing a Local Development Plan is a requirement of local authorities by the Welsh Government, and Wrexham's proposed plan was drafted to allocate sites where around 8,000 homes and major developments could be built in the county borough.

This went out to public consultation five years ago before being examined and tweaked by the Welsh government and independent inspectors who deemed the plan sound to adopt earlier this year. The deadline was set for eight weeks for the council to adopt.

But in April this year, councillors voted against the plan, having raised concerns such as the location of a proposed Gypsy site off Coed Y Felin Road in Brymbo, the number of new homes earmarked for land off Cefn Road near the city centre, and overall potential impact on the county borough’s infrastructure.

This resulted in a judicial review application being made to the court, challenging the unlawful decision which ultimately saw the vote being held again yesterday, but this time under the knowledge that there is a legal threat.

Experts found that the judicial review has overwhelming merit, and the council has acted unlawfully.

The council was required to adopt the LDP, but the vote was brought back to the council to attempt to rectify the unlawful action.

However, the meeting heard that the advisors recognised that it was “ultimately a democratic decision” and those advising "respect that”.

The meeting heard that no councillor is going to prison or facing criminal convictions as this is a civil case, but democracy is not above the law.

At the meeting, held in the Guildhall, Mayor Cllr Andy Williams reminded councillors to respect one another and limited each speech to five minutes.

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Cllr Stella Matthews acknowledged flaws in the plan but urged councillors to uphold the law during her speech.

Cllr Marc Jones said they had a duty to “challenge particular law” and that he would question encouraging people into politics if the LDP was adopted. He said: “If people want councillors instead of sheep, so be it.”

Cllr Carrie Harper acknowledged the comment that councillors were told they wouldn’t go to prison for how they vote. She said that the Welsh Government was “dodging accountability.”

Other councillors gave their opinions for and against the vote, with many acknowledging that if the decision was unlawful, they should not have been put in the position where they vote.

Cllr Paul Roberts was the only one to abstain from voting, but the majority voting against means that Wrexham will now remain as the only council out of the 22  local authorities in Wales that is still without a Local Development Plan. 

Commenting today after the meeting, Sarah Atherton MP for Wrexham, said: "While democracy was placed under considerable and unacceptable pressure in the Wrexham Council Chamber, the voice of the majority in Wrexham held out.

"The Welsh Government’s Future Wales 2040 Plan imposes around 7,000 new homes in Wrexham on green belt land with no road upgrades to support such mass development.

"This Local Development Plan was not designed with Wrexham’s best interests in mind.

"What we saw at Wrexham Council was true devolution, with locally elected representatives making decisions for local people. Whilst the potential for judicial review looms, today democracy prevailed."