Basildon councillors vote to withdraw 29,000-home local plan if judicial review fails despite warning from Pennycook

Basildon Borough Council (BBC) has voted to withdraw its 29,000-home local plan if its planned judicial review of ministerial intervention is unsuccessful, despite the housing minister warning that such a move would be “unlawful”.

At a meeting on Monday, the council passed a motion “to withdraw the current local plan from further progression beyond the Regulation 19 stage, subject to all necessary procedural requirements if the forthcoming judicial review is not successful, as a last resort”.

The clause was amended during the meeting so that the council waits for the outcome of its High Court challenge, rather than simply withdrawing the plan subject to the necessary procedural requirements.

Ahead of Monday’s meeting, Matthew Pennycook wrote to BBC leader Andy Barnes to “raise serious concerns” about the proposed motion, following a months-long tussle between the minister and the council over its 27-year-old development plan.

In July this year, Pennycook directed the council to update its local plan to reflect current housing need. He sought to impose the adoption of a plan for around 29,000 homes, which the Conservative-led council refused. Councillors subsequently voted to explore a judicial review of Pennycook’s intervention.

In his most recent letter from 26 October, Pennycook wrote: “I want to ensure absolute clarity and eliminate any potential ambiguity in relation to the proposal to halt the progression of the plan. My direction of 21 July expressly requires the council to take no steps to withdraw the plan. That direction remains in force, and the council is required to comply with it. 

“Any decision to take steps to withdraw the plan in defiance of the direction would be unlawful. Should the council nevertheless seek to do so, I would be forced to consider all appropriate steps available to me, including taking over the plan and potential legal action.”

The approved motion will also see the council writing to housing secretary Angela Rayner to express concerns that the delivery of 29,000 homes, alongside the required infrastructure, is unviable and places “unsustainable pressure” on Basildon’s green belt.

In his latest correspondence, Pennycook said he would consider the council’s request for an extension to the local plan submission deadline currently set for 31 December 2026.