A key document forming the blueprint for the controversial Hendon Hub regeneration scheme has been dropped by Barnet Council.

Councillors agreed not to adopt The Burroughs and Middlesex University Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) in its current form. The decision, which came during a meeting of the policy and resources committee on Tuesday, marks a U-turn on the previous Conservative administration’s plan to adopt the draft SPD.

Last year, Hendon resident Richard Lecoat mounted a legal challenge to the document, claiming it was in fact a development plan that required a much greater level of public consultation, oversight and scrutiny than an SPD. He claimed the SPD should either be treated as a development plan or be deemed unlawful.

Richard won permission for a judicial review of the document, and a hearing had been scheduled for last month but was subsequently postponed. A report presented to the committee acknowledged that if the SPD were deemed unlawful, planning decisions that placed weight on it would be open to challenge and this would “frustrate” development opportunities in Hendon.

In a statement issued after the meeting, Richard said: “I am pleased that the Labour council has recognised the need to withdraw the SPD; I always contested that the SPD, created by the previous administration, grossly overstepped its bounds, to the point of being an unlawful document. I consider the council’s recent decision to be a clear validation of the legal merits of my challenge.

“That said, we should bear in mind that until such time as the claim for judicial review is formally settled it very much remains in force. It is my hope that the new Labour council, having seen fit to take this action in the face of a potential judgement in my favour, will now settle the claim once and for all by meeting my reasonable costs. I also very much hope that they will then do the right thing and live up to their electoral promises by really listening to Hendon residents.”

During the meeting, Conservative councillor Alex Prager pressed Labour members for their views on the future of the Hendon Hub, a plan to redevelop council-owned sites to provide student accommodation, affordable housing and facilities for the University of Middlesex.

Council leader Barry Rawlings said the Hendon Hub scheme would not be built in its original form but refused to be drawn on the administration’s plans as they are still a “work in progress”. He added: “We do have a view, and we will be honest and open with residents and the university when we reach a conclusion.”

Under questioning from Conservative leader Dan Thomas, Cllr Rawlings said the Hendon Hub was a “redevelopment opportunity” and that “some redevelopment” would happen.

The planning applications for the scheme, which were approved by councillors in January, are currently being reviewed by the Greater London Authority. Cllr Rawlings said new applications may be submitted once the plans are revised but pointed out that it is possible to “work within” existing applications to improve them.