Action is being taken to review the controversial local plan for St Albans.

The Strategic Local Plan, drawn up by St Albans City and District Council, identifies land for housing and other building developments up until 2031.

A recent planning inspector’s ruling that the council did not meet its duty to co-operate with neighbouring local authorities was upheld this month by the High Court.

This meant the council could not proceed with the plan without considering changes, particularly to the number of homes needed in the district.

In response to the High Court decision, the council is now preparing a series of measures to allay the inspector’s concerns.

The first move will be a meeting of all the council’s political group leaders and planning spokespersons.

This has been scheduled for next week and is intended to ensure continued cross-party support for the Council’s approach to the SLP.

Cllr Mary Maynard, responsible for planning, said: “We are going to be very busy over the summer ensuring that the plan can hurdle the obstacles in its way.

“A lot of hard work has gone into getting to this advanced stage and I am determined that we will continue to progress and maintain cross-party support.

“We disagreed with the claim we had failed to co-operate with other local authorities and were disappointed that our High Court challenge failed.

“However, that legal issue has been settled now. We have to accept it and move forward with the effort to finalise a plan for the district.

“The key will be our talks with neighbouring authorities and the Government over the district’s housing need.”

In a further move, the council will seek a meeting with the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG).