People would not invest time and money making plans if they thought they would get chucked out so they must believe they can get permission. Plus they keep appealing so there must be something in it.
Andrew just wants a statue of himself up in the village. He is a self serving NIMBY but yes I would like a self serving councillor in my area if his self serving matched the view of the people. Also if I lived in Brymbo I would start getting ready for the Traveller site. Andrew wont have it in his backyard.
What the planners need to do is get in bed with the Planning Manager Lawrence Isted who wants to give everyone permission to build wherever they bloody well like. I would like to see Andrew and Lawrence go head to head.