A COUNCIL has agreed not to contest any ruling made on its decision to approve a housing estate, made when a councillor pressed the wrong button in a vote.

Ryedale District Council held an extraordinary meeting of its full council in Pickering on Monday evening (October 21) over its approval of plans to build 260 homes on farmland near Kirkbymoorside, near Helmsley.

Ryedale District Councillor David Cussons accidently voted in favour of the application after earlier arguing the development would stick out like a sore thumb and should not be built on agricultural land.

But when the vote came, he pressed the wrong button on the council’s electronic voting system. It tipped the vote in favour of the plans.

The authority is now embarking on the potentially lengthy process of revoking the decision.

The first step is a judicial review, which can decide to either uphold the decision on planning approval, or quash the council’s ruling.

Last night (Monday, October 22) the council voted to not contest whatever decision the judicial review made and to allow council chief executive, Janet Waggott, to respond to the ruling in the best interests of the council and Ryedale residents.

If the legal process does not quash the decision - allowing councillors to start again in looking at the plans – then the local authority may have to ask Government minister Eric Pickles to revoke the decision.