Wrexham.com > News European Elections 2014
Posted: Fri 17th Jan 2025
Welsh Government are asking the Supreme Court if it will consider hearing an appeal to the recent judgement over the Local Development Plan.
Just before Christmas Wrexham councillor Marc Jones won a landmark Court of Appeal judgement against Wrexham County Borough Council as a corporate entity, the Welsh Ministers, and a range of housing developers over Wrexham’s Local Development Plan (LDP).
Today was the end of a short time window where a Supreme Court appeal could be lodged on that judgement.
Cllr Jones was the named person on the court documents, but the action was effectively taken as part of a cross party trio of councillors, Cllrs Hugh Jones and Cllr Mark Pritchard – supported by around 28 councillors. As readers will have been long following, the LDP has been a thorny issue with multiple fraught votes again the plan in the Guildhall chamber – but it was finally adopted.
The recent legal decision dismissed the judicial review and effectively said Wrexham councillors did not actually have to adopt the LDP (the vote saw a boycott from councillors), and the previous votes against it were ‘not unlawful’.
This afternoon a Welsh Government spokesperson told Wrexham.com “The Welsh Ministers have applied to the Supreme Court for permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s judgment.
Wrexham.com had asked who was making the decision to go for – or not for – an appeal, and for detail on the reasoning as to why.
Welsh Government said, “As this is ongoing litigation, we cannot comment further.”
Earlier this week Wrexham Council indicated they would not be taking part in any such appeal request.
A request to appeal is not always successful and this move does not mean the case will be guaranteed another re-run, with the Supreme Court explaining, “Permission to appeal is only granted for applications that, in the opinion of the Justices, raise an arguable point of law of general public importance which ought to be considered by the Supreme Court at that time, bearing in mind that the matter will already have been the subject of judicial decision and may have already been reviewed on appeal.”
If the request is accepted, the Supreme Court explain, “The listing officer of the Supreme Court will contact the parties and make arrangements for the appeal hearing to be fixed. Most appeals take two days and, wherever possible hearing dates are fixed having regard to the availability of the parties and their representatives.”
Locally it was detailed to Wrexham.com that such a route could take several months to return an ultimate verdict, in the meantime it is unclear what, if any, impact that has on local Planning Committee business.
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