Last night's meeting at the Maesgwyn Hall, Wrecsam, to discuss the LDP

Labour MP told 'get off the fence' on housing plan controversy Plaid Cymru councillors have challenged a Labour MP to "get off the fence" over his support for a new Local Development Plan for Wrecsam. 

 They were responding after Wrecsam MP Andrew Ranger called for a new LDP in light of growing pressure to review the existing plan, which includes plans for two super-estates on either side of Wrecsam.

The two greenfield sites, of 1500 houses between Ruthin Road and Bersham, and 1680 on the Cefn Road and Wrecsam Rugby Club, have led to public meetings, protests and petitions by campaigners who argue that they will not deliver the affordable housing that Wrexham needs. 

Councillor Marc Jones, of Plaid Cymru, said that he welcomed Andrew Ranger's support for a new LDP but said his statement didn't explain what he wanted: 

"Mr Ranger is the first Labour politician to come out and say the current LDP needs to change but, unfortunately, he doesn't explain what he actually wants in its place. He and his Labour colleagues, who have been pushing the current housing plan at a local and national level, need to get off the fence now and explain where they stand. He was invited to last night's public meeting in Wrecsam's Maesgwyn Hall and chose instead to put out a statement that may get an easy headline but fails to address the most pressing issues - where does he stand on the Cefn Road and Ruthin Road Key Strategic Sites? Does he still support them in a new LDP? 

"There will be a new LDP needed in 2028 but, in the meantime, we need guarantees from the Labour Government in Cardiff that they will not allow these sites to go through via the back door - on appeal. We also need the Labour Government to sit down with Wrexham Council to discuss how we proceed over the next few years. Instead the Government is continuing to spend taxpayers' money on legal challenges to the Court of Appeal judgement, which ruled in favour of councillors who had refused to adopt the LDP in its current form. 

"We need a plan that works for Wrecsam rather than just the developers. The Welsh Government's own more recent target for affordable housing across north Wales is for 53% of new builds, yet our housing allocation only has 9% affordable housing. The Government is saying one thing, but doing something completely different. It's totally incoherent and doing nothing to address the very real housing issues many Wrecsam residents are facing in terms of unaffordable housing. We have 3,000 homes with planning permission that aren't being built by developers, we also have complete inaction on getting 1600 empty properties back into use. 

"Mr Ranger has made a public statement on the LDP but he would be far better off talking to his Labour colleagues in Welsh Government and at Wrecsam Council to make sure they start to accept that we need a housing plan that works for Wrecsam."