A Judicial order for councillors to adopt a controversial planning document has been appealed.

In December 2023, Wrexham county councillors voted to adopt the authority's local development plan.

The vote came after two previous refusals of the scheme were quashed when a consortium of developers brought a Judicial Review, which took place at the Cardiff Civil Justice Centre a few weeks earlier.

But the ruling of Mr Justice Eyre on that occasion, which included an instruction to Wrexham Council to adopt the LDP, has been challenged in an appeal bought by Cllr Marc Jones.

The proceedings at the Court of Appeal began on Tuesday, before the Senior President of Tribunals, Lord Justice Baker and Lord Justice Holgate.

Counsel on behalf of the appellant told the court Mr Justice Eyre's ruling had "removed the democratic choice" from members of Wrexham Council.

He said: "A local development plan is a significant document for a local authority.

"It guides the development control in their area for the next 10 to 15 years.

"It cannot be right that the local authority can be compelled to adopt a plan they do not wish to adopt."

The court heard an excerpt from a letter circulated to councillors by Wrexham Council's monitoring officer, in which it was explained members who went against the ruling of Mr Justice Eyre and voted against the adoption of the LDP a third time at the end of last year could be found to be in contempt of court and could face "imprisonment, a fine or confiscation of assets."

Counsel for the appellant continued: "Members are being told they can choose how to vote, but unless they vote in one particular way, they could go to prison.

"What is set up is a farcical procedure where you have a meeting of the full council and members being asked to vote, but there being only one lawful outcome.

"If Mr Justice Eyre's interpretation is upheld, any interested party would be able to go to court for a similar order if councillors choose not to adopt a plan."

He also asked the court to consider the use of language in the legislation, questioning whether the relevant sections imposed a mandatory duty on the authority to adopt the plan - or a discretion to choose for itself.

Counsel representing Wrexham Council said: "It is accepted by the appellant that in appropriate cases, the word 'may' can impose a duty to act.

"When one draws all the threads together, the appropriate conclusion in this case is that [the legislation] does impose a duty to adopt and Mr Justice Eyre was right to hold as he did.

"The structure of the act is to drive the preparation and adoption of local development plans - and the national and strategic components - to make sure planning policy is up to date and works effectively together.

"Giving the local planning authority the discretion to abandon a plan at that late stage runs the risk of leaving the local component of the plan absent.

"The appellant's submission is that members of the planning authority, the full council, acted in light of some concern they had regarding the planning merit regarding the inspectors' recommendations.

"No such indication appears from the resolutions the members made in either April or June last year."

However he accepted that in the minutes of those meetings, concerns had been raised by individual councillors.

Having said that the adoption of the LDP had to be enacted by reaching a resolution, the council's Barrister was asked about the members' vote in December 2023 - and whether it actually constituted a 'vote' if members had only one lawful option available.

"It's not a vote with a choice," he said, "but it is still a vote."

Counsel representing the Welsh Government told the court it was very clear in the legislation that the council was under an obligation to adopt the plan.

He explained Wrexham Council had been written to in June last year, confirming it was the "only one (authority) in Wales which had failed to meet its statutory obligation to adopt an LDP."

"We are very anxious," he said, "that this LDP which has been adopted remains adopted.

"We have done our very best to make sure that this local authority, as all local authorities in Wales, know they have a duty to adopt, and that the inspector's report is binding upon them."

He added that the use of words such as 'may' as opposed to 'must' in the relevant legislative sections regarding a local authority's adoption of the LDP "is just referring to the different circumstances in which the obligation to adopt arises."

The legislation "imposes an obligation" to adopt, he said, adding: "That's their statutory duty. That's what they've got to do."

The hearing will resume at 10.30 on Wednesday.