Cheshire East Local Plan: Shaping Our Future

Consultation on the Development Strategy and Policy Principles Documents

Cheshire East Council is preparing its new Local Plan which will guide the future planning and development of the area.  Between 15^th January and 26^th February 2013 we are consulted on two main documents (Overall Development Strategy for Cheshire East and Emerging Policy Principles) and two supporting documents (Sustainability Appraisal and Habitats Regulations Assessment).

The Development Strategy sets out the proposed overall number of new homes and employment land that will be needed; it suggests levels of development for the main towns and identifies proposed strategic development sites.  The Policy Principles document sets out proposed policy principles to make sure that new development helps deliver objectives for enterprise and growth, stronger communities, better connectivity and a sustainable environment.  Due to the importance of the issues tackled and the size and complexity of Cheshire East, the documents are fairly lengthy but a summary of the Development Strategy is also available to download below.

The Development Strategy and Policy Principles documents are not the final version of the Local Plan but the results of the consultation will be instrumental in drafting the final submission draft of the Local Plan.

The sustainability appraisal is required under Government guidance and legislation and its purpose is to identify how the Development Strategy and Policy Principles will contribute towards meeting environmental, social and economic objectives in the Borough.  The Habitats Regulations Assessment seeks to identify the potential of strategies and policies to impact upon Special Protection Areas, Special Areas of Conservation and Ramsar sites.

Consultation Responses and Next Steps

Consultation on these documents has now ended and all responses are being considered.  A full report of consultation will be produced but in the meantime you can view the responses made on each of the documents by following the links below.

• Read comments made on the Development Strategy for Cheshire East (link to consultation portal)
• Read comments made on the Emerging Policy Principles (link to consultation portal)
• Read comments made on the Sustainability Appraisal (link to consultation portal)
• Read comments made on the Habitats Regulations Assessment (link to consultation portal)

All comments will now be considered together with other research and evidence prior to drafting the first part of the final Local Plan.  This will be the submission draft Core Strategy of the Local Plan; we aim to publish this for consultation during the summer of 2013, which will be followed by an independent public examination by a Government-appointed inspector.

Document Downloads

Although consultation has now ended, copies of the documents are still available to download for reference.

• A Development Strategy for Jobs and Sustainable Communities (PDF, 5.2MB)
• Cheshire East Policy Principles Document (PDF, 2.3MB)
• Development Strategy Summary Document (PDF, 3.0MB)
• Sustainability Appraisal of the Development Strategy and Policy Principles (PDF, 8.8MB)
• Habitats Regulations Assessment for the Development Strategy and Policy Principles (PDF, 4.0MB)
• Habitats Regulations Assessment Summary Document (PDF, 2.0MB)
• Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, 1.3MB)
• Background Paper - Population Projections and Forecasts (PDF, 713KB)

Copies of documents are also available to view in all Cheshire East libraries, Delamere House in Crewe, the Town Hall in Macclesfield and Westfields in Sandbach.

Social Media and Publicity

We have compiled a selection of news articles about the consultation and Cheshire East Local Plan in general.  We also have a short film about the Local Plan and consultation.

You can follow us and join the debate on Twitter (@PlaceShaping), Facebook (Spatial Planning - Cheshire East Council) and LinkedIn (Spatial Planning - Cheshire East Council). Encourage your friends to join too!