THREE landowners have joined the North-East’s biggest council in launching legal action to save its rubbished economic masterplan.

Having seen its County Durham Plan (CDP) torn apart by an independent inspector, Durham County Council last week took the highly unusual step of seeking a judicial review.

Now three other groups, Ainscough Land, the Sniperley consortium and Lambton Estates, have done the same.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) must respond on behalf of the Planning Inspectorate within 21 days.

Council chiefs hope a way forward can still be found to avoid a potential High Court showdown in Leeds this summer.

But Councillor Neil Foster, the council’s cabinet member for economic regeneration, said County Durham was determined not to be left behind.

“The Government’s talking about the Northern Powerhouse. There’s a danger we’re going to be left in the outhouse,” he said.

Ainscough Land is connected to the Hag House site, near Pity Me, Durham which the CDP earmarks for more than 1,000 houses and a supermarket, while the Sniperley site, north of Durham, could get more than 2,000 new homes.

The Earl of Durham wants to build 400 executive homes at his Lambton Estate, near Chester-le-Street as part of a wider plan to open the area to the public, restore Lambton Castle and secure its long-term future.

The council’s decision to pursue a judicial review has been criticised as a waste of public money, including by Liberal Democrat Mark Wilkes who described it as arrogant, ignorant and stupid.

But former Newcastle United chairman Sir John Hall, who has led a business campaign backing the CDP, said: “I’m 100 per cent behind the county council’s efforts to get a resolution to what I feel is a great injustice.”

And turning on critics, he said: “They need to see the bigger picture.”

The CDP aims at 30,000 new jobs, 31,400 new homes, extra retail and employment space and two new bypasses by 2030 and is said to be worth £3bn.

There are fears without a local plan in place, the county will fall further behind the region and country and Durham City is vulnerable to inappropriate development.

Council chiefs also confirmed they would consult on new student accommodation policies including Articles 4 and 7 directions, forcing landlords to apply for planning permission to turn a home into a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) and to erect a To Let board, this summer.