Council says dispute over 3,000 homes development near Tong should not be settled in the courts

The dispute centres on the Bradford Estates' desire to build 2,900 homes on land to the north of Junction 3 of the M54, and west of the village of Tong.

The development, which has had several names and is currently called 'Weston', would also include an 80-hectare Midlands Tech Park.

The site was not included in Shropshire Council's local plan, meaning it would not be able to go ahead, but solicitors acting for the Bradford Estates have challenged the council over the move, threatening to launch a Judicial Review and arguing the council's failure to look at extra development sites as part of the process is 'unlawful'.

The planning inspectors had also raised 'soundness concerns' over the council's position regarding the issue.

The council has now responded to the Bradford Estates, describing the threat as "an abuse of the examination process", arguing that the "appropriate forum" to discuss the issues is in the ongoing examination of the local plan.

It has also questioned what it says are "factual inaccuracies" in the position put forward by the lawyers acting for the Bradford Estates.

But, queried on the council's position, a spokesman for the Bradford Estates suggested that without changes it would not be backing down over its legal threat.

The issue centres on whether or not Shropshire needs to include more sites for development to meet its requirement to provide housing for Black Country councils.

The council had said it had provided for the 1,500 homes needed to meet the requirement – but inspectors, and subsequently the Bradford Estates, have queried whether the homes were already required for Shropshire's quota – effectively double counting the development space.

Shropshire Council has rejected the suggestion, saying that its targets for 30,800 homes were already above and beyond the requirement.

The matter is set to be a major feature of the next stage of the local plan examination.

It is ultimately key to whether the landowner could be given permission for what would effectively be the creation of a new town.

In a letter to lawyers acting for the Bradford Estates, Miranda Garrard, head of legal and democratic services at Shropshire Council, said: "As it stands, we consider the threat of judicial review as being an abuse of the examination process and most certainly premature.

"The council acknowledges the inspectors have subsequently written to the council, indicating that in the light of your pre-application protocol letter, they have some soundness concerns with some of the additional material the council provided to the examination in July.

"This serves to illustrate that the inspectors were already seized of your concerns, and that your concerns are capable of being dealt with during the examination process and an alternative remedy to the threatened judicial review."

But queried on the council response, the Bradford Estates spokesperson said: "We are carefully considering the recent letter from the council, but our initial review is that the council have not properly responded to the inspectors’ request to consider additional sites to meet the needs of both Shropshire and the neighbouring Black Country.

“Without considering new sites that could serve Shropshire and Black Country needs in a more sustainable way the council overlooks a critical requirement for the local plan to be found sound, and while we do not wish to see the matter taken through a legal process, proceeding as is will result in an unsound plan that does not satisfy the housing and employment needs of Shropshire and the Black Country.”

The local plan sets out locations across all of the Shropshire Council area where homes and commercial sites can be built up until 2038.

The Bradford Estates is owned and managed by Alexander Bridgeman, Viscount Newport.