Next phase of borough development plan

Cheshire East Council is about to launch the next phase of the Development Plan, the approved framework for housing, employment, and other key infrastructure sites  up to 2030.

With the local plan strategy adopted last year, the council is now in the position of identifying further non-strategic sites for development, including housing. There will be a consultation process (starting 5 September) but no final decisions will be made until the consultation process is concluded and all feedback considered.

The Site Allocations and Development Policy Document ( SADPD ) will follow a similar pathway to the Local Plan Strategy, with two rounds of six-week public consultations, supported by a range of evidence documents and followed up with a series of public hearings chaired by a government planning inspector.

When adopted, the SAPDP will replace the legacy policies of the three former borough local plans, covering Macclesfield, Congleton and Crewe and Nantwich.

To meet its target the council needs to ensure 36,000 homes are built between 2010 and 2030, therefore additional sites will be identified together with more detailed development management policies to guide planning decisions.

The majority of development needs have already been provided for through the Local Plan Strategy.

The sites in the SADPD will be non-strategic – sites of less than 150 homes or five hectares in size.  Some will be focused in key employment areas in principal towns, such as Crewe, or in smaller key service centres such as Poynton or Middlewich or smaller local service centres such as Bollington and Audlem .

The council must also meet its obligation to provide affordable housing, Gypsy and Traveller sites and sites for Travelling Showpeople.

A further element of the document is the review of policy boundaries around towns and villages to guide location of development and direct investment to them. But there will also be measures to protect land regarded as important to biodiversity and recreation.

Councillor Ainsley Arnold, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for housing, planning and regeneration, said: “It is important that our residents and businesses are given a clear picture of what the council must provide in terms of housing sites, employment sites and other infrastructure requirements.

“Cheshire East is a great place to live, work, raise a family and have access to good schools and quality housing. It is important that this next phase in the local plan process is open and transparent and that we encourage as many people as possible, including stakeholders and partners, to engage in this consultation process.

“The Local Plan Strategy and the SADPD are central to the achievement of sustainable development in the borough.”