Developer accused of 'bullying' councillors into approving controversial plan scheme for 800 homes in Albrighton
A developer has been accused of “bullying” and attempting to “effectively blackmail” Shropshire Council into approving a controversial housing scheme with the threat of an appeal.
Boningale Developments want to build 800 homes on a 48-hectare site off Patshull Road in Albrighton, in east Shropshire.
The outline proposal also includes a care home, secondary school, and ‘local centre’. However, despite the firm stating it was on ‘grey belt’ land, and not the green belt, Shropshire Council’s southern planning committee unanimously rejected it on Tuesday (December 16).
Days before the meeting, Boningale Developments issued a statement, saying it was “disappointed” with the planning officer’s recommendation to refuse the scheme. The firm urged committee members to consider the proposals diligently, and within national policy guidelines, and to take into account the “considerable financial undertaking” of defending any refusal at appeal.
And it was the latter part that got under the skin of councillors, who let the company know in no uncertain terms how they felt.
“I don’t base my planning decisions on the threat of being taken to appeal, as has been indicated in emails I’ve recently received,” said Councillor Nick Hignett (Conservative, Rea Valley).
“My decisions are based on material planning concerns and always will be.”
Councillor Caroline Bagnall (Labour, Broseley) added: “I do not appreciate being bullied in making a decision by the threat of appeal,” while Councillor George Hollyhead (Reform UK, Brown Clee) said that “the threat of being taken to appeal” does not change the fact that, in his opinion, the proposal conflicts with several policies.
Councillor Carl Rowley (Reform UK, St Martins) went as far as to say that the developer “was effectively trying to blackmail” the council, adding that what he had read was “absolutely outrageous and disgraceful”.
Councillor Beverley Waite (Lib Dems, Ludlow East) also said she did not like the concept of being threatened if members do not agree with the developer.
Councillor Colin Taylor (Lib Dems, Bridgnorth South) added: “I do not like being threatened in any shape or form. To have that delivered to us by email this last weekend, with that statement, was beyond it.
“We have enough to put up with, with planning.”
The chair of the committee, Councillor Andy Boddington (Lib Dems, Ludlow North), said he had been “quite disturbed” by some of the things he had read and heard, and will address them “procedurally”.
“I’ve already made approaches, which you will hear about next year, about us trying to stop that basis because we don’t take threats – it’s very straightforward,” said Councillor Boddington.
“What we are looking at are material planning considerations, not the threats that have been made by email that don’t go on the planning portal.
“We’ve got to make those rules absolutely clear so it never happens again. We may have to fight an appeal, but if we have to, we’ll be there.”
In response, a spokesperson for Boningale Developments said: “The probability of success and associated costs of defending an appeal is relevant information for the planning committee to be aware of, with the officer’s report confirming this should be taken into account when determining the application.
“In this case, we remain of the view that the officer’s report and recommendation to the committee was flawed, particularly as it came prior to our successful appeal last week in Tilstock, which highlighted that Shropshire Council’s housing land supply is in a worse position than they had previously estimated.
“We felt it important to ensure that members were aware of the updated planning context and the likelihood of success in defending an appeal, which will carry significant cost for Shropshire residents.
“As a Shropshire-based developer, our aim is to deliver the right homes in the right places to meet the county’s needs and we will work with Shropshire Council’s officers, elected members and local communities to do so.
“With this in mind, we are committed to working with the council to reduce the associated costs of an appeal for Albrighton South and look forward to continuing to work proactively together on forthcoming developments.”
