Judicial review claim forces council to suspend referendum on neighbourhood plan
A judicial review claim has halted a referendum on a Wiltshire neighbourhood plan days before it was set to take place.
The legal challenge launched against Wiltshire Council puts the breaks on the Marlborough Area Neighbourhood Plan, a plan that Marlborough Town Council, Mildenhall Parish Council and Savernake Parish Council have been working on since 2015.
If implemented the plan will see the construction of 65 new homes in Marlborough over the next 14 years. Approximately 25 of the houses will be affordable.
The town and parish councils sent the final version of the plan to Wiltshire Council last month (July 2022). Wiltshire Council then scheduled a referendum on it for 11 August 2022.
However, on Wednesday this week (10 August 2022), two days before the vote, Wiltshire Council announced it had suspended the referendum in response to a judicial review claim.
The claimant, Martin Ephson, who owns a large house between Marlborough and Mildenhall, alleges that the council removed the protection from an open green space near his home, which had been designated for protection through the entire draft plan’s consultation period to a new and different location.
This was done without consultation and between the independent examiner's sign-off at the end of May 2022, and the referendum edition of the plan published on 4 July, according to Mr Ephson.
In a statement, Mr Ephson said: “‘After much work by many people the MANP provides our community with an excellent framework to guide planning policy for years to come. It’s too important to have its impact undermined before it even gets adopted. It was important to stop the council making material changes without public consultation after the plan was signed off by the independent examiner and before our vote. I raised this with the council in person and in writing but unfortunately they brushed my concerns aside which is why I have been forced to resort to the courts.”
Terence Herbert, Counting Officer at Wiltshire Council, said: “The council has received a claim for judicial review relating to the Draft Marlborough Area Neighbourhood Plan.
“I have been instructed to suspend the Referendum due to be held on 11 August 2022 following an order of the court until further notice.”
Cllr Nick Botterill, Member for Strategic Planning at Wiltshire Council, said: “We appreciate this will be a disappointment to the local community who have worked really hard to prepare the plan. However, it is important that the legal proceeding is resolved, and a neighbourhood plan is in place for the Marlborough area as soon as possible.”
On its website, Marlborough Town Council says the plan is the result of "a long process of consultation, drafting and refining, following the stages required by law".
Adam Carey
