WREXHAM councillors have been warned that they could face jail if they fail to adopt the Local Development Plan (LDP).
The LDP is a requirement of local authorities by the Welsh Government to make land available for development. Wrexham’s proposed plan was drafted to allocate sites where around 8,000 homes and major developments could be built in the county borough.
It went out to public consultation five years ago before being examined and tweaked by the government and independent inspectors who deemed the plan sound to adopt earlier this year.
But it was twice rejected by councillors in April and June, amid concerns about some of the sites included in it and the overall impact on the city’s infrastructure.
A consortium of developers brought a Judicial Review, which took place at the Cardiff Civil Justice Centre on Wednesday (November 29).
At the hearing, the Judge concluded: "I'm not requiring the council to meet by December 31, but in my assessment, a meeting and resolution adopting the LDP any later than mid-January 2024 at the latest would not be a proper response to this order."
An improper response to the order will result in "firmer action" by the court to ensure the council complies with its duty.
The Judge added: "The council deliberately, in the face of legal advice and recommendation, declined to carry out its legal duty."
And ahead of the LDP being voted on for a third time next week (December 20), Wrexham's chief legal officer, Linda Roberts, has warned councillors that they could even face jail over the matter.
In an email sent to councillor Carrie Harper, Ms Roberts said: "The position remains as always at council meetings that councillors are free to vote how they choose. However, as you are aware there are consequences. By declining to adopt the LDP, there has been a breach of statutory duty to adopt the LDP as found by the court.
"You were all made aware of the implications and risks of voting not to adopt the LDP in the council reports in April and June. This included my estimate that legal costs of up to £100,000 could be incurred due to a failure to adopt the LDP.
"This has happened and we have been ordered to pay £100,000 legal costs to the claimants. In addition, we have incurred legal costs ourselves together with substantial officer time spent dealing with this case."
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She continued: "If councillors choose to vote against adopting the plan again then the statutory duty will be breached again. The case will return to court, incurring further legal costs.
"The judge can find the council in contempt of court if it disobeys a court order. As individual councillor votes will be available (presuming there is a recorded vote) then the court could make an order against those individuals.
"If the court finds a defendant in contempt of court, the court may impose a period of imprisonment, a fine, confiscation of assets or other punishment permitted by law."
She added: "A complaint to the ombudsman for alleged breach of the code of conduct could be made, for example, under the code councillors must not use or authorise others to use the resources of the authority imprudently or unlawfully.
"I will be drafting a report to council for December 20 to include the current position. I will not be incurring further costs obtaining specific legal advice on this matter."
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