Buckingham Town Council to seek legal advice over Crown Care Home

 
Town Council Seeks Legal Advice as to whether to launch a Judicial Review of AVDC’s decision to approve an application to build a Crown Care Home on land behind the Grand Junction Public House.
Buckingham Town Council held an Extraordinary Meeting last night (Thursday 9 November 2018) to decide whether to spend Council funds on seeking an expert legal opinion as to whether the Town Council should instigate a Judicial Review in the High Court of a recent planning decision by AVDC. The Town Council has six weeks from the date the decision was made – Friday 26 October – to decide whether to launch an appeal. Once the Council has obtained legal advice, it will decide whether to proceed at its meeting to be held on Monday 19 November 2018.
The Town Council is looking to take this action to protect the town’s Neighbourhood Plan, which was made in October 2015, at a cost of £80,000 and thousands of man-hours, and backed by 91.45% of those voting in the referendum.
Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the Planning Committee, Councillor Mark Cole said:
“What members are being asked to do tonight is to defend not only the current Buckingham Neighbourhood Development Plan, but also our future Neighbourhood Plans. We believe that errors in law have been made by AVDC Planning officers in their advice to the Strategic Development Management Committee to approve the application to build a Crown Care Home on land behind the Grand Junction Public House… Buckingham Town Council has strongly opposed this application from the start… This Council also maintains that this application contravenes National Planning Policy Framework policies regarding developments – and particularly those for vulnerable people – in floodplains, and AVDC’s interpretation of them… The cost – which… could be up to £3000 – would be money well spent to protect our current Neighbourhood Plan, and an investment in those of the future.”