Appeal over 45 controversial new homes in Northants village which were rejected during meeting

A developer whose housing application was rejected by a panel including a suspended councillor – who was found to have used his position to refuse planning permission – is to appeal the case in a hearing later this week.

Developers Cora Homes, who have since rebranded from Barwood Homes Ltd, were refused permission to build 45 homes in Flore by West Northamptonshire councillors last November and are awaiting the decision of an appeal into the matter.

Councillor Phil Bignell, who represents the Long Buckby ward, was suspended for three months after a cross-party panel held in May this year found him to have breached the council’s code of conduct. The ban took effect from the beginning of June, almost seven months since the council refused the Flore homes application.

The panel found that he had predetermined his decision to refuse the application before the meeting. Councillors are not allowed to deliberately make a decision before the application is heard in meeting and should base their votes on the application’s merits, not politics.

Despite not being a full member of the Daventry planning committee or a substitute, Cllr Bignell attended the meeting in place of another councillor and voted on the housing application. Flore, where the houses were proposed to be built, is part of his Long Buckby ward.

An investigation by the Local Government Association (LGA) found that he had prepared a speech ahead of the meeting and was reading from a typed document. The council voted against the application five votes to four, with one member of the committee abstaining.

The plans to build the 45 new properties with associated landscaping, open space, parking and access on 2.9 hectares of land east of Brington Road in Flore were recommended for approval prior to the meeting.

The hearing for the appeal will be on Thursday, October 12.