Reform leader 'disappointed' after Government orders West Northamptonshire Council to press ahead with Local Plan after bid to scrap it
The Government has intervened after Reform-led West Northamptonshire Council voted to scrap years of work on its Local Plan and start the process again.
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.
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.”