Taxpayers in Bexley shelled out more than £160k on  a pair of failed planning applications submitted by the council, it has been revealed.

Bexley Council’s plans to concrete over two open spaces in Bronte Close and Wilde Road for a dozen flats were thrown out by councillors in August.

Residents and campaigners packing the public gallery cheered when councillors voted against the authority’s own scheme – despite it being recommended for approval by officers.

Despite changes from a previous deferred attempt, the planning committee unanimously voted against the council’s own proposals.

Following a freedom of information request, it can be revealed the council spent more than £167,000 on its failed planning applications.

The council stated it initially spent £161,338 on the first application, which was deferred in March.

The cost of the slightly amended second application, rejected last month, was £6,453, meaning a total of £167,791 was spent trying and failing to seek permission for the 12 flats.

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Responding to the figures, a council spokesman said: “The council sought to bring forward a scheme for the Wilde Road site that would provide much-needed quality housing for local people.

“The costs involved reflect the nature of the proposed scheme and the site. The application was processed in the same way as any other similar scheme.”

The costs were for the entirety of the planning process, including mock-ups, third-party consultations and traffic surveys.

As the council proposed its development in Erith, campaign group Save Wilde Road was established by neighbours concerned about losing open spaces and increased traffic pressures on an estate claimed to be at breaking point.

The sites had been earmarked for development to help the council raise cash, and to provide extra housing for the borough amid the capital’s housing crisis and the council’s plans for growth.

Opposition leader, Labour’s Daniel Francis, said the revelation raised questions for the council’s leadership as cabinet members spoke out over the proposals during the planning process.

He said: “The council went down a path where it has wasted a vast amount of public money on a scheme its own cabinet members felt they couldn’t support.

“It has had the opportunity to withdraw that scheme from BexleyCo’s (the council’s development company) business plan. Even after it was deferred it carried on spending money on a scheme its own members didn’t feel was sustainable.

“The cabinet have to ensure taxpayers’ money is spent properly, and despite bringing the scheme forward, members have been actively campaigning to make sure the £167k plan was defeated. There are real questions to be asked.”