The Labour group at Lichfield District Council say they will not oppose Conservative proposals to axe the draft Local Plan.
The document, which would have outlined how things such as housing would be addressed until 2040, is set to be withdrawn after a cabinet member said it was no longer “suitable”.
The move means the local authority will go back to the drawing board on a Local Plan if the u-turn is approved by cabinet and full council.
Cllr Sue Woodward, leader of the Labour opposition group, said her party would not oppose the move – but said they will seek assurances on “a number of issues” when work restarts on drafting the future for proposals for the district.
“We can see the arguments for doing this as we know from past experience that it is better to take the time to have a sound Local Plan in place rather than trying to rush through something half-baked.
“The bitter experience and extra cost of pushing ahead with the wrong Local Plan – as David Smith did when he was leader of the Conservative-led council in a few years back – is testament to the dangers of rushing ahead too quickly.
“However, we are concerned that it has taken so long for the Conservatives to realise that they were going in the wrong direction with this, when some of their own former councillors were calling them out on this some time ago.
“We also have concerns about the risks of withdrawing the emerging Local Plan and will make these clear at the council meeting when we discuss this, as well as looking for assurances on some key issues for us in any new Local Plan.”
Cllr Sue Woodward, Lichfield District Council
The Lib Dems have also said they believe the rethink will be an opportunity to solve some of the issues within the current Local Plan, while a former Tory cabinet member said the warnings that the document had been clear even before the local elections.
Cllr Alex Farrell, Conservative cabinet member for housing and the Local Plan, said the reasons for reversing on the document were obvious ones.
“It is clear to me that our proposed new Local Plan is not suitable, and I’d like to see a new approach to housing that suits our local communities.
“We want to explore the idea of a new settlement in the district, as opposed to the current approach that is suffocating local communities with a disproportionate amount of housebuilding without sufficient infrastructure.”
Cllr Alex Farrell, Lichfield District Council
