Claims Wrexham residents are ‘losing faith’ in planning system as figures highlight lack of enforcement

People living in Wrexham are losing faith in the planning system as a result of the local authority’s failure to take action against rule breaches, it’s been claimed.

It comes as new figures show Wrexham Council has received more than 1,700 complaints about unauthorised developments or breaches of planning conditions since 2016.

Despite this, formal action has only been taken against developers on 27 occasions, according to statistics obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service under the Freedom of Information Act.

In one case earlier this year, house builders began work on a controversial scheme to create 360 new homes on Gresford Road in Llay before a condition requiring them to put forward measures to address traffic issues at a nearby crossroads was fulfilled.

However, local planning officials claimed taking action would simply have ‘deferred the inevitable’.

Llay councillor Rob Walsh has now said villagers have been left angered by the decision.

The Liberal Democrat councillor said: “They weren’t supposed to start work until plans for the Crown crossroads had been agreed.

“It’s still not been agreed and residents are totally baffled. They’ve lost all confidence in planning and the planning enforcement system.

“From my perspective, this is something that is very important and the fact that it’s been ignored means public confidence is now at an all time low and it’s a shame.”

The figures show that the council received 1,758 planning complaints since the start of 2016, including 275 so far this year.

The largest amount filed in a single year was 523 in 2017, but enforcement was only carried out on four occasions during the 12 month period.

The statistics also reveal that only three prosecutions have been carried out overall.

The council is currently dealing with 98 outstanding cases, however has defended its position on enforcement.

It claimed that the low level of action taken demonstrated the effectiveness of its planning department.

A council spokesperson said: “Planning enforcement powers are discretionary and decisions are taken on whether it is advisable to take formal planning enforcement action on a case by case basis.

“Therefore, the difference in the number of complaints received when compared to the occasions formal action has been taken should not be viewed as a poorly performing service.

“In many respects the low number of cases where formal action has been pursued could reflect the effectiveness of the service in resolving matters without having to resort to formal action.

“Addressing breaches of planning control without formal action can often be the quickest and most cost-effective way of achieving a satisfactory and lasting remedy.

“Local planning authorities must strike a balance between using enforcement powers when it is right to do so and being able to manage the expectations of communities who might wish for minor breaches of control, which are acceptable in planning terms, to be enforced against.”

In regards to the breach of conditions in Llay, the spokesperson said it was a ‘technical breach’ and would not have caused any harm.

They added: “There were a couple of conditions that should have been met before work started, however, the applications to discharge these conditions had been submitted by the developers before works started.

“Both related to highway works that required implementing before dwellings were occupied and not the commencement of the development site itself.

“To take formal action would have simply deferred the inevitable, being a matter of timing with no change in circumstances.”

By Liam Randall – BBC Local Democracy Reporter (more here on the LDR scheme).