Wrexham readies for appeals in aftermath of local plan quashing
Acknowledging its vulnerable position, Wrexham County Council’s planning team warned councillors legal challenges were likely to increase now that the latest approved spatial strategy is the Unitary Development Plan, which expired 15 years ago.
Welsh Government may have formally withdrawn Wrexham County Council’s proposed local plan spatial development plan last month, but the evidence base behind the strategic document could still be part of the planning application decision process.
That was the gist of a report filed by the county council’s head of service for planning, Matthew Phillips, which he shared with members of the county council’s planning committee on Monday.
Phillips went on to explain that this is because the existing UDP is out-of-date and the national Future Wales framework does not contain detailed allocations for land and employment. The evidence used to formulate the LDP is therefore the most up-to-date and site-specific information, and, having been tested through examination, was found to be sound.
He added that LDP evidence may thus be used by council planning officers when assessing applications, and that an appeal body would likely do the same. This may lead to departures from the UDP, he warned.
In the meantime, he noted that navigating planning applications in the post-LDP world may prove tricky.
“We are going to be in a situation where both officer recommendations and committee decisions are going to be more frequently challenged at appeal and the outcomes of those are increasingly uncertain for the time being,” he told county councillors.
Despite Leader Cllr Mark Pritchard’s insistence at that meeting that “costs should never come into a discussion or a debate in the planning committee,” Phillips noted that there is an important role that costs have to play. Cost awards are given when the planning inspectors view the county council’s actions as unreasonable. The Welsh Government will be monitoring the county council’s performance at appeal and if it racks up too many costs awards, there could be a further intervention.
Wrexham County Council will be holding workshops for planning committee members in the future to help guide them in the decision making process in the new, LDP-free era.
“costs should never come into a discussion or a debate in the planning committee”
There speaks a man who’s about to expose his council to a series of horrific costs awards.
By PHUTCh
It is regretful that these planning officials are the individuals responsible for this expensive blunder in the demise of the LDP. It should be seen as a lesson in failing to properly consult with Councillors and Community Councils who having been ignored then challenged the legitimacy of the imposed LDP. In many organisations those responsible would lose their jobs. In Wrexham the local taxpayers will be forced to pay for this shambles by planning officers.
By Anonymous
I hope they get smashed at appeal and costs awarded across the board. Would be thoroughly deserved for members who have consistently played politics over pragmatic planning.
By Anonymous
Anonymous @ April 19, 2026 at 7:14 am – Your comment is some of the most genius trolling I’ve ever seen. Obvious satire. It is plain for anyone to see that the Councillors responsible for this shambles are some of the most brazen ever seen in local politics. They should be held personally accountable for all of the costs arising from this.
By Anonymous
Matthew Phillips is an excellent Planner and good man put in an impossible position. I’m really surprised he’s ot jumped ship given all he’s had to deal with.
By Jack Mary Ann