Inspector to review controversial homes plan

3 hours ago

James GrantNorthamptonshire

A plan for 47,300 new homes was rejected by West Northamptonshire Council

Press Association In the foreground, two men in yellow high-vis vests are laying concrete grey bricks. In the background is scaffolding around a brick house with the wood battens of the roof exposed. — A plan for 47,300 new homes was rejected by West Northamptonshire Council

A planning inspector will examine proposals for tens of thousands of homes after the government ordered the local authority to speed up the process.

West Northamptonshire Council's draft local plan could see up to 47,300 homes built across the area by 2043.

In September, the Reform UK-led council voted to go back to the drawing board and start a new local plan from scratch.

The following day, the government ordered the council to continue with its existing draft plan.

The council is fighting the direction from Westminster and says progressing the current proposals would "create greater risks and delays" following objections that were raised in a public consultation earlier this year.

An official from the government's Planning Inspectorate will now review the existing local plan.

Mark Arnull said the local plan could shape how West Northamptonshire grows over "the coming decades"

A man in a navy blazer, a blue shirt and a black and white striped tie stands in front of a glass fronted building. — Mark Arnull said the local plan could shape how West Northamptonshire grows over "the coming decades"

"We welcome the opportunity for an independent planning inspector to conduct the advisory visit," said Mark Arnull, the leader of West Northamptonshire Council.

He said the local authority had made its "concerns clear to government".

A spokesperson from the Planning Inspectorate said these "advisory visits" were part of the standard process and not "unusual".

They involve an informal discussion chaired by an experienced inspector "without prejudice", they added.

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