Labour have rejected a Conservative proposal to delay the new Local Plan consultation due to the pandemic.

Conservative Group Leader Cllr John Slater accused Labour of rushing it for no good reason and proposed a 6-month delay so that usual forms of consultation such as public meetings can be carried out. Cllr Slater said "With this being such an important document I do not see the rush, especially with the vaccine. In 6 months time we may be in a completely different place and I would like to see this postponed because not everybody uses digital media or IT. I would like to see it postponed so that everybody in the Borough can have their say and engage on this".

Executive Member for Growth & Development Cllr Phil Riley rejected the proposal and accused it of being "very inappropriate". The Executive Board then approved the consultation to be held in January with John Slater the only dissenting voice.

Conservative candidate for Livesey with Pleasington Mark Russell said "There is no good reason not to postpone the consultation. It will not be submitted to the Planning Inspector until the end of 2021 so why not hold the consultation in June when residents can be properly engaged? The government is also expected to publish new housing targets for Councils in the middle of the consultation period. To hold the consultation in January seems barmy when the Plan may need to be amended halfway through the consultation due to those new targets".