Councillors vote to refer decision on Stansted expansion back to the planning stages

Councillors chose to defy legal advice that said they must press ahead with rubber stamping a decision made by the previous adminstration to expand Stansted airport.

In November last year, the then Tory led council voted to increase the maximum cap on passengers at the airport to 43 million.

But since then, they have been voted out and replaced by Residence 4 Uttlesford - a political party made up of local residents groups.

An extraordinary meeting was called after the campaign group Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) started a petition that gained a historic number of signatures.

Despite a warning that further delaying the approval notice for the airport could result in a potentially costly appeal, the full council voted overwhelmingly for an amended motion that will see the issuing of the notice determined by the committee at a later date.

• Click to watch a report by ITV News Anglia Matthew Hudson

A spokesperson for Manchester Airports Group, that own Stansted said: