Council passes motion urging Welsh ministers to withdraw local development plan

Wrexham Council has passed a motion calling on the Welsh Government to urgently direct withdrawal of its local development plan (LDP), after the plan's adoption was quashed and the Supreme Court refused ministers permission to appeal.

Details: 04.Aug.2025

The Welsh Government applied to the Supreme Court in January to appeal a Court of Appeal decision that found Wrexham Borough Council did not have to adopt its local development plan (LDP) despite a High Court judge previously saying otherwise.

At the High Court, Mr Justice Eyre issued an order that the council adopt its LDP in November 2024 following judicial review proceedings that were brought by a group of developers.

These proceedings were brought after the council twice rejected the LDP.

Eyre J found that the council's initial resolutions not to adopt the plan – which had been deemed sound by a planning inspector and recommended by officers – were ultra vires and/or irrational on the basis of a mistaken belief in the existence of a discretion.

He also concluded that the council breached its statutory duty by declining to adopt.

In an extraordinary meeting following the High Court judgment, the council's monitoring officer warned members that they could face prison sentences if they defied the High Court order.

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Councillors went on to adopt the LDP. However, Plaid Cymru leader, Cllr Marc Jones, later appealed against Eyre J's ruling.

Lord Justice Holgate concluded at the Court of Appeal that the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 "does not impose a duty on a local planning authority in Wales to adopt a local development plan".

Holgate LJ also found that the resolutions passed by the council in April and June 2023 not to adopt the plan were "not unlawful".

The Welsh Government then appealed the Court of Appeal's findings.

The Supreme Court later refused permission for the appeal in March.

Cllr Marc Jones then proposed a motion calling on the Welsh Government to direct withdrawal of the local development plan (LDP) "as a matter of urgency".

The motion – which was passed at an extraordinary council meeting on Wednesday (30 July) – also calls on the council to formally recognise that the LDP "was adopted as instructed in the judgement by Mr. Justice Eyre".

It continued: "This was later overturned by the Court of Appeal which ruled that the council was under no obligation to adopt and subsequently the adoption was quashed.

"Until withdrawn, it therefore reverts to the status of an unadopted plan and weight attached to it, if any, is a matter for the decision makers."

The motion says that until direction to withdraw the plan is given, the council should consider its adopted development plan (which consists of the Unitary Development Plan and Future Wales), and Planning Policy Wales, Technical Advice Notes and Welsh Government Circulars as "significant relevant policies in the determination of planning applications".

Adam Carey