COUNCILLORS will not be able to give their final approval to plans to expand Stansted Airport until after tomorrow’s (May 2) elections.

It comes after an extraordinary meeting of Uttlesford Council was held after councillors signed a petition demanding a final decision over the £600million revamp be delayed.

Most of the details have been approved, but airport bosses must confirm what contributions – known as section 106 agreements – will be made to infrastructure in the Stansted area before getting the green light for the scheme.

The council had been set to approve the terms put forward by the airport but delayed the ruling after the last-minute meeting was arranged for last Thursday.

A motion was put forward by Residents for Uttlesford councillors, supported by four Liberal Democrat and two Conservative members, to stop a decision being made before May 2.

Stop Stansted Expansion chairman Peter Sanders said: “It is beyond comprehension why our own local council wanted to rush through approval of this planning application by accepting a totally inadequate package of local safeguards and community benefits.

“The draft section 106 agreement which contained the proposed safeguards and benefits did not even meet the minimum requirements set down by the council’s own planning committee.

“Thankfully, there will now be an opportunity to look at this afresh in a less frenzied atmosphere after the local elections have run their course, whatever that course may be.”

Urging councillors to reject a delay in giving the plans the green light, council leader Howard Rolfe told councillors at the meeting last Thursday that accepting the motion would lead to a charge of non-determination with “a potential cost even as much as £1 million”.

But Mr Sanders said: “If that were to be the case the fault would lie entirely at the council’s own door.

“This planning application has been incompetently handled from start to finish.

“It was always far too complex to be dealt with locally. It should have been passed to the Secretary of State for national consideration at the very outset.”

A spokesman for Uttlesford Council said: “A motion to refer the matter back to the Planning Committee was defeated at the Extraordinary Council meeting on Thursday.

“Eleven members of the council then called an Extraordinary Council meeting to seek further legal advice on the planning agreement for Stansted Airport.

“It is not possible to hold the meeting until after the election. Because of the call for the council meeting, it would not be appropriate to sign the agreement and to issue planning approval at present.”

A spokesman for Stansted Airport said: "While we welcome the fact that councillors voted against referring our S106 legal agreement back to its planning committee, we are disappointed that the actions of a small minority of councillors have led to the council delaying the issuing of our planning permission.

"Our comprehensive mitigation package has already been the subject of many months of negotiations, and has been reviewed and approved by the Council’s independent legal team and independent statutory consultees such as Highways England and Essex County Council before being approved by the Council’s own planning committee.

"This further review and delay is both regrettable and avoidable.”