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A call for a Judicial Challenge of a Planning Inspector’s
decision over Central Bedfordshire’s Development Strategy was approved by full
Council last Thursday.
The Inspector recently reviewed the planning document, which
governs how much housing and land for employment should be provided for in
Central Bedfordshire, and concluded that it should be withdrawn. This is
because the Inspector felt that the Council has not co-operated sufficiently
with other local authorities.
On Thursday 26 February full Council agreed that the
Development Strategy should not be withdrawn. Instead the Council sanctioned
Judicial Review proceedings against the Secretary of State for Communities and
Local Government over the Inspector’s conclusions. Should the Secretary of
State wish to contest this challenge, then the matter would go to a hearing in
the High Court.
Speaking about the decision, Cllr Nigel Young, Executive
Member for Strategic Planning and Regeneration, said: "It is with sadness
that we have reached this point as we do feel we have discharged our
co-operation responsibilities, which we take very seriously. As evidence of
this, our Development Strategy includes 5,400 homes as a contribution to
meeting Luton’s housing need.
“We have taken legal advice, which is that we have a case to
make that the duty to co-operate was incorrectly interpreted by the Planning
Inspector as a duty to agree, which is quite different.
“We are committed to sustainable development and to serving
the best interests of our communities, neither of which could be achieved if
the Development Strategy was withdrawn or rejected.”
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