Conservative leader 'absolutely furious' as Government 'forces' Local Plan that will see thousands of homes built across West Northants

Following yesterday’s news (Tuesday) that the Government has intervened to stop the Reform-led West Northamptonshire Council from scrapping its Local Plan, Conservative leader Daniel Lister said he is ‘absolutely furious’.

Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, has used statutory powers to direct WNC to continue with its existing draft Regulation 19 Local Plan.

The intervention comes after the council's Planning Policy Committee voted on Monday, September 14, to restart the process using the 2026 National Planning Policy Framework and Town and Country Planning Regulations 2026. The move would have seen years worth of work scrapped with the entire process starting again.

Cllr Lister, who represents the Long Buckby ward where 1,000 homes have been earmarked in the plan, said: “Less than 24 hours after West Northamptonshire's Planning Policy Committee voted to start our Local Plan again under the new 2026 planning rules, the Housing Minister has ordered the council to carry on with the old one anyway.

“I am absolutely furious.

“The Government scrapped its own planning rulebook four weeks ago and now it is forcing this council to plan the future of West Northamptonshire under rules it has already thrown in the bin.

“We made our decision for good reason. A plan written to rules that no longer apply protects nobody. The sites get built. The safeguards do not hold up. That is not a plan worth having, and the Minister knows it.

“The council has until 29 September to make the case that this intervention is wrong. I will be working to make sure that case is heard loud and clear.”

As previously reported by the Chronicle & Echo, the decision followed years of work on the existing plan and four rounds of consultation.

More than 6,000 responses were received during the latest consultation, with concerns particularly surrounding proposed development in rural areas.

The existing plan had reached an advanced stage, with a final six-week Regulation 19 consultation expected before it was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate.

However, Reform councillors voted to start again, arguing the council needed to take account of residents' concerns and changes to national planning policy.

Opposition councillors branded the decision “reckless”, warning that restarting the process – expected to take around three years – could leave West Northamptonshire more vulnerable to speculative development.

The council also estimated that producing a replacement plan would cost more than £700,000 in additional unbudgeted expenditure.

The Government has now directed WNC to launch the Regulation 19 consultation on the existing plan by October 5 for at least six weeks and submit it by December 31.

WNC has also been instructed not to withdraw the plan, to report its progress to Government officials monthly and to progress it through the examination process.

The council has until September 29 to outline any exceptional circumstances which it believes mean intervention is inappropriate.

Councillor Mark Arnull, leader of WNC, said the authority was “deeply disappointed” by the intervention.

He said the decision to restart had been taken to ensure the council had time to produce a plan which addressed residents' concerns, reflected the new national planning framework and properly shaped future growth.

Councillor Arnull added: “Our residents should not be forced to choose between having a Plan quickly and having a Plan that works.”

He said the council would now carefully consider the Government's direction while continuing to argue for sustainable growth “in the right places and at the right pace for West Northamptonshire”.

Cllr Sally Keeble, Labour Group leader, added: “We welcome the government intervention in the interests of the orderly discharge of the Council’s planning functions and the protection of the interests of the people of West Northamptonshire.”