Council backs legal action over homes plan

Councillors have voted to consider taking High Court legal action against the government over the future of housebuilding in their borough.

The Conservative minority administration at Basildon Council said Westminster had "effectively nationalised" its plan for where homes should be built.

In July, Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook told the Essex authority to submit a local plan - setting out where homes should be built - by 31 December.

A government spokesperson said: "All areas, including Basildon, must play their part to build the homes we need."

A local plan serves as a blueprint for where homes and employment space should be built, usually over a 15-20 year period.

Basildon Council has been working on various designs for years. The latest version is supposed to set out where 28,000 homes can be built before 2043.

In his letter, Pennycook said putting together a local plan was the "most effective means of protecting green spaces and the green belt from speculative development".

Writing on Facebook ahead of Basildon's full council meeting, which took place on Thursday, Tory leader Andy Barnes pointed out that other local authorities had sought judicial reviews to fight local government reorganisation.

Basildon has not agreed on a local plan since 1998. The cabinet member for planning, Tory Andrew Schrader, admitted its local plan was "the most out date in the country".

Labour opposition leader Gavin Callaghan asked how much the judicial review action could cost the council. The answer was not provided at the meeting.

Reform UK and independent councillors also voted to seek a judicial review. Labour abstained.

The ruling cabinet will meet to decide whether to proceed with the action later this month.

A government spokesperson confirmed that Basildon remained under "ministerial direction to progress its plan".

"We will not hesitate to step in if councils are not getting on with the job to have an up-to-date plan in place," they said.

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