Takeley district councillor Geoff Bagnall barred from voting on Uttlesford draft Local Plan because he lives too close to proposed development site

Uttlesford’s draft Local Plan has progressed to its final stage amid uproar after a councillor whose ward will be most affected by development was barred from voting.

Cllr Geoff Bagnall, one of three Residents for Uttlesford (R4U) members for Takeley, lodged a formal objection after he was excluded from last Tuesday’s (July 30) extraordinary meeting of Uttlesford District Council, which is controlled by R4U. Instead he was granted three minutes to speak during the session for public participation.

Over the 20-year period of the plan – which is a blueprint for future housing, employment, infrastructure and open space in the district – Takeley is set to get 1,506 new homes, a primary school, a secondary school and 45 acres (18 ha) of land north of Taylors Farm has been earmarked for industrial use.

Meanwhile, Saffron Walden has been allocated 879 new homes, Dunmow 715, Stansted 325 and Elsenham 110.

Council officers deemed Cllr Bagnall had an interest because he lived too close to the proposed development site. He slammed the move as “obstructing democracy or just plain discrimination” as fellow councillors voted through the plan – 24 votes to 12 – to its final round of public consultation, which will begin on Thursday (Aug 8) and end on October 3.

He told the meeting: “How is it that a ‘senior’ councillor with a ‘pecuniary’ interest can influence and direct allocations in this Local Plan and I’m being excluded from the meeting.

“Some might see this as obstructing democracy or just plain discrimination. It seems that the suggestion is I could be seen as being a Nimby (not in my back yard). Well, what about the other councillors who could be seen as being a Semby (someone else’s back yard)?”

Cllr Bagnall urged members to “reject and rework” the flawed plan, despite the inclusion of positive policies. “We should not send this plan to the Inspector for them to then tell us we have got it wrong, when we knew it wasn’t right in the first place,” he said.

“It seems strange that the entire allocation in Thaxted was removed and Newport is now able to choose their allocations… No such luxury has been afforded to Saffron Walden, Dunmow, Stansted or Takeley.

“The administration rightly pushed for a sound Local Plan to be produced, however we are now prepared to accept ‘second best’ just so that we can say we have achieved that objective…regardless of the consequences? This is madness and is now a vanity project to meet deadlines.

“How ironic that it is a ‘Residents’ party that will do this level of damage to the district because they are fearful of any further delay.”

The council meeting heard that following an announcement by the new Labour Government, Uttlesford could be faced with having to find space for a further 2,000 homes if its Local Plan was once again thrown out by an inspector. Opponents claimed the R4U administration was rushing through the plan to avoid such a scenario.

It has been nearly 20 years since Uttlesford last had a Local Plan in place.

Cllr Geoffrey Sell (Lib Dem, Stansted North) said: “I’ve always believed that we need a Local Plan, but not at any cost, and it seems to me a little perverse that we are discussing this on the same day as a major announcement by the Government.

“My reading of Angela Rayner’s speech is that it’s dependent on how far we have got and whether what’s in the Local Plan accords with the Government’s wishes, and I’m not convinced that just because we have a deadline of December 2024, everything is going to be OK.”

Cllr Ray Gooding (Con, Stansted South & Birchanger) said after the meeting: “There has been significant pressure to move forward to the consultation, and whilst it is generally accepted that there is a real necessity to have the plan in place, I was not convinced that the current proposals are sufficiently robust because they contain a number of items that are inconsistent or easily challenged.

“I would include within this the loading of the majority of the development to the south of the district in areas that have already borne the brunt of significant development… It is my concern that a little more time taken to iron out the anomalies inherent within this latest plan would minimise the risk of it again being rejected.”

After the meeting, R4U expressed “shock” at attempts by the Conservatives – who voted 8-2 against the plan – and Liberal Democrats to block the plan. Deputy leader Cllr Neil Hargreaves (Newport) said their “unscrupulous behaviour was despicable”.

In a statement he said: “The Conservative vice chair of the council, Cllr Chris Criscione (Flitch Green and Little Dunmow), made a very crisp contribution laying out the merits of the plan, but I was amazed that the other Tories failed to take heed of his experienced advice. I appealed to them to come along with us to make the plan a success for all.

“It was a way to distance themselves from their eight years of repeated failures, the irreparable damage they oversaw and the £6 million of taxpayers’ cash they wasted in their previous Local Plan efforts. But all I could see was variously blank or grinning faces and Westminster tribal destructiveness.”

Cllr John Evans, UDC’s portfolio holder for planning, said: “We are getting ever closer to taking back control and being able to stem the tide of speculative and opportunistic development. Each step taken towards adopting a new Local Plan is a step in the right direction for the district.

“This is the final opportunity for people to add their comments before the plan is sent to the Government for examination. I would encourage everyone to have their say.”

The council has organised the following drop-in exhibitions to give people the opportunity to find out more about the plan and to have their say: Stansted & Elsenham – Ugley village hall, Mon Sept 2, 5pm to 8pm; Dunmow – Foakes Hall, Great Dunmow, Wed Sept 4, 5pm-8pm; Saffron Walden – Saffron Walden Town Hall, Mon Sept 9, 5pm-8pm; Takeley – Priors Green Community Hall, Tue Sept 10, 5pm-8pm.

More information is available at www.uttlesford.gov.uk/new-local-plan.