Work begins on new Local Plan for Cheshire East

Cheshire East Council has begun work on a new Local Plan for the borough, which will help inform planning decisions and development through to the 2040s.

A 12-week consultation is underway to hear from residents, businesses and other stakeholders as to the issues future local planning policies can address, such as meeting the borough’s future housing needs, tackling climate change, providing new jobs, restoring nature and supporting healthier lifestyles.

Views are also invited on a number of other draft reports that will help inform the content of the new Local Plan, including about the availability of land for future development. 

The consultation can be viewed online. The deadline for responding is 5pm on Monday 1 July 2024.

Cllr Mick Warren, chair of Cheshire East Council’s environment and communities committee, said:

“A Local Plan sets out how new development should take place in the future and shows what sort of development is acceptable and where, for example homes, business growth and infrastructure.

“The current Cheshire East Local Plan runs to 2030 and last year, the council decided that a new one should be prepared to replace it.

“We’re still waiting for the Government to release full details of the changes they are making to the way future local plans must be prepared, as part of its reforms to the planning system, and we are some way off publishing any draft policies and proposals for the borough.

“But the issues paper is the first important step in preparing our new local plan and provides an initial opportunity for local communities to tell us through the consultation how they feel it could help to tackle local priorities.

“The other documents we are consulting on, while more technical in nature, are still important to how our borough is shaped in future, and I’d encourage people to share their views on those too.”