"Cant agree more. It can be a double whammy if they loose at appeal then costs can be awarded against them. The planning and legal departments must be running around like headless chooks courtesy of their councillors and the constant delays to the local plan which will not make it past day three of the public inquiry. They say it is the fault of Central Government - how handy to have a scapegoat- and profiteering developers who are playing by the rules. None of this debacle would have happened had they included West of Stonehouse. These speculative applications are because SDC has not got a proven 5 year supply. If they included it there would be no argument!!! You do the simple maths 1500 homes over a 20 year period and no fighting speculative applications and legal costs of appeals. But we don't need all these houses I hear the nimbies cry!!! Employment and housing go hand in hand, both very thin on the ground in SDC"