Withdrawal of West Berkshire’s local plan blocked by central government

A Liberal Democral council’s request to withdraw West Berkshire council’s local plan has been blocked by the secretary of state. 

In a letter to West Berkshire council, housing secretary Lee Rowley announced that the secretary of state, Michael Gove, was using his powers under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 to intervene, and prevent the council from withdrawing the LPR from examination. 

Rowley stated that if there was any significant delay to progressing the local plan review (LPR) examination, or if the council fails to comply with the directions in the letter, the secretary of state would consider taking ”further intervention action to ensure that an up-to- date local plan is in place”.

The council, which has been run by Lib Dems since May’s election was seeking to withdraw the local plan review submitted by the previous Conservative administration to the secretary of state for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 31 March 2023. 

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The request for withdrawal of the local plan was on the grounds that the spatial approach to concentrate development in Thatcham and at two sites in Theale will have a negative impact on the towns and wider district.  

The local plan review has proposed the development of up to 2,500 homes in Thatcham, a market town, and another 100 in a village called Theale. 

The current administration stated in a report presented at an extraordinary meeting on 19 December, that it wanted to develop a new local plan, with less focus on large site allocations.

The report said a new local plan would focus on the re-use of brownfield land within existing settlements, and take a more flexible approach to development in other areas including the countryside.  

It was noted that a new local plan would cost the council £1.6m and would take up to 30 months to prepare.

However, the cost of a new plan would be partly offset by £250k as a result of not progressing with the examination of the LPR. 

As a result of the new Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, which has set a cut-off date of 30 June 2025 for plans to be prepared under the existing planning system, a new local plan would need to be made according to the new system post 2025. 

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The report states that West Berkshire council’s planning service is currently running a vacancy rate of 30%, and that withdrawal of the LPR could result in additional speculative planning applications and appeals.

West Berkshire council’s current local housing requirement is 513 new homes per year. The delay in creating a new local plan would have affected the council’s ability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply and create the need for an extra 1026 homes. 

Central government’s intervention in the proposed withdrawal of a local plan comes following Michael Gove’s speech on Tuesday, in which he announced several changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), stating that “sharper accountability”, in the form of performance league tables would be introduced to ensure councils process planning applications within statutory time limits.

Gove accused some councils of “gaming” the system by using extension of time agreements to “slow down the system”.