Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has ordered Basildon Borough Council to advance its local plan, which it has failed to update or change in 27 years.
In a sent letter to the council last week, Pennycook formerly directed the Essex local authority to update and submit a local plan for examination no later than 31 December, with a consultation to commence by 10 August.
“This government was elected on a manifesto that included a clear commitment to build 1.5 million new homes in this parliament, and all areas are required to play their part,” he said.
“It is of serious concern to me that the council has stated its opposition to the standard method and to progressing a plan that meets housing need in full.”
The Basildon local plan was adopted in 1998, with alterations made in 1999, making it one of five authorities without an adopted plan under the 2004 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act.
In 2022, the council scrapped a 17,791-home emerging local plan, which was originally submitted in 2019. The plan was rejected by the then Conservative-led council on grounds of protecting the area’s green belt.
“I note and appreciate your wish to protect green spaces in your borough and to ensure that development is supported by appropriate infrastructure and public services,” Pennycook added.
“I would simply point out that getting an up-to-date local plan in place is the most effective means of protecting green spaces and the green belt from speculative development and identifying the infrastructure needed to support growth and how it will be funded and delivered.
“For all these reasons, it is disappointing that the previous Conservative council administration failed to adopt a plan when they had the opportunity to do so in 2022. That plan would have provided a framework for managing growth, securing infrastructure investment and protecting the borough from speculative development.”
Pennycook also warned that “this level of delay” would place the council’s prospects of meeting the deadline in “serious jeopardy”, adding that it “raises the likelihood that plan preparation would need to restart under the new plan-making system”.
Last month, Pennycook also intervened on the City of London Corporation’s City Plan 2040, calling for further examination and scrutiny on its assessment of tall buildings and their impact on the Tower of London World Heritage Site.
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