PP, El Gordo has already released a statement effectively telling Wealden District Council to think again:
"The whole country owes Joe huge gratitude for the sacrifice he's made for our country. It's unacceptable that he is being stopped from having the home of his choice. Wealden District Council must do the right thing immediately and reconsider this case."
However, I smell politics in the statement from the Leader of the Tory-run Wealden District Council. It reads as though they're trying make some political capital through attempting to blame the government's planning policies for tying their hands over the issue - but it was the District Council themselves who wrote:
'It was not considered that the specific needs of the applicant or their family constitute an overriding justification for a new dwelling in this location as an exception to the usual countryside restraint policies'
which implies that they
do have some discretion in such matters, but chose not to apply it in Joe's case.
Petition now stands at 14727 signatures.