Three major planning applications are awaiting a decision by Redbridge’s planning committee – which has not considered any plans for ten months.

The most recent major planning application decided by the planning committee was in October 2021, since when the monthly meetings have either been cancelled or have not considered any applications.

When approached for comment on this in June, a council spokesperson said developers tend not to submit applications that could be controversial. They also suggested that there were no outstanding applications for the committee to decide on.

However, a Freedom of Information request has confirmed there are three large applications outstanding, one of which has been waiting a year for a decision.

If approved and built, these applications would contribute 103 homes to the council’s housing delivery target, which it has failed to meet for 16 years in a row.

The council has not responded to requests for comment.

Conservative group leader Cllr Paul Canal has previously accused Labour of cancelling planning meetings to “protect their members from scrutiny”.

The oldest outstanding application is for a seven-storey development containing 27 homes, proposed for a site in Aldborough Road South, Seven Kings. It was submitted in August 2021 and was due for a planning officer’s initial decision by November, but that deadline has been pushed back to next month.

In November 2021, a developer submitted plans for an 18-home development in Raven Road, South Woodford, with a planning officer’s decision due by February 2022.

More recently, plans were submitted for a 12-storey building containing 58 flats at 587-595 High Road, Seven Kings, in February this year.

This month, head of planning and building control Brett Leahy left Redbridge to join Enfield Council as director of planning and growth.