The Council claims that the officer's recommendation to remove the development sites from the proposed Neighbourhood Area is illegal and is "at odds" with the legislative purpose of the Localism Act, following legal advice from Paul Stinchcombe QC.
DHRA's applications for designation of the Daws Hill Neighbourhood Forum and Neighbourhood Area included development sites at RAF Daws Hill and Handy Cross Sports Centre, but Wycombe Council Officers recommended (140-pages / 3MB PDF) that the Neighbourhood Forum be designated in respect of an area which is "considerably reduced" from that for which the application was made, the DHRA said in a letter to the Council (2-pages / 168KB PDF).
"DHRA specifically chose the Neighbourhood Area which the proposed Daws Hill Neighbourhood Forum would wish to represent inter alia because of the cumulative effects of the proposed redevelopment of sites at RAF Daws Hill and Handy Cross Sports Centre," the letter said.
"DHRA has been advised that if the Council were to accede to the Officer's recommendation, it would be falling into legal error," it said.
Developer Taylor Wimpey owns the RAF Daws Hills site and plans to build around 500 homes there. The other development site at Handy Cross Sports Centre includes plans for a new £27m sports centre with modern facilities. A planning application was submitted for Handy Cross in June.
The DHRA argues the Council should further "rather than frustrate" Neighbourhood Forums in influencing developments which will "obviously impact" upon their locality and community, such as those proposed for the above sites.
"As a matter of fact, however, the Council has denied DHRA any technical advice, support or funding, as set out in the 'Plain English Guide to the Localism Act'," the DHRA's letter said. "The Council is proposing to deny the Daws Hill Neighbourhood Forum the opportunities intended to be afforded by the Localism Act."
"In these circumstances, DHRA formally requests that the Council rejects the officer's recommendation and decides instead to designate the Daws Hill Neighbourhood Forum in respect of a designated Neighbourhood Area which includes the land currently recommended to be included, but alongside both: RAF Daws Hill; and Handy Cross Sports Centre," the letter said.
