Council planning appeal budget spent in four months
BBCMoney for planning appeals in the Cherwell area ran out at the end of July 2025, according to council papers.
The £100,000 budget for the 2025/2026 financial year was used up in less than four months, with officers saying reserves or savings would be needed instead.
Appeals can be brought by developers when applications are refused, and if it is found permission should have been given they can be costly for authorities.
Cherwell District Council said it had not been necessary to use reserves for planning appeals yet, as the overspend had been offset via additional income.
The BBC has been told the budget will be kept at £100,000 for the next financial year, starting in April.
It is after a major planning application for new warehousing near the M40 was turned down by councillors, with developers stating they planned to appeal.
Several major planning applications are also due to be decided soon, including a new £600m "Puy du Fou" history-based theme park near Bicester.
Amanda Watkins, who is the group leader of the Labour opposition group, said the overspend was a "concern".
"This has come about because far too many acceptable housing applications have been turned down by certain members of the planning committee," she said.
"Some councillors have too much of a NIMBY [not in my backyard] approach, and indeed, some used this approach on their election leaflets, promising to halt building."
But Liberal Democrat leader of the council David Hingley said decisions were not political and the committee was made up of councillors from all parties.
"The group of councillors who make these decisions on the major applications about whether to approve or to reject them, it's wholly independent," he said.
"There's no kind of pressure from within political parties on the members of the committee to vote in a particular way and they will come to their own conclusions and then they will vote."
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