Local Plan ‘Issues and Options’ consultation
The consultation will be for eight weeks
Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Cabinet will be asked to approve the Local Plan ‘Issues and Options’ consultation at their meeting on 11 June. The consultation will be for eight weeks (slightly longer than usual due to the summer holiday period).
A Local Plan is used to identify the future demand and locations for housing and land for employment. The plan sets out design requirements for new developments and includes policies for protecting the borough’s environment.
The current Plan identifies an annual requirement of 1,100 homes and 18 hectares of land for office, industrial and distribution uses. There were 1,366 new homes completed last year across the borough. However the level of new housing now required under the new National Planning Policy Framework is much higher at over 1,900 homes per year.
A Local Plan ensures that development takes place using a planned approach across the Borough and takes into account the needs of local people in terms of housing and infrastructure. The Plan is informed using the Council’s ambitions for sustainability, net zero targets, inclusive economic growth to meet housing needs and identifying land for future business and investment.
The new Local Plan will identify the level of new housing and land for employment development in each area across the borough.
A cross-party informal Member Working Group was established by Cabinet to assist the plan making process. The group is chaired by the Cabinet Member for Homes and Planning and acts as a sounding board for Officers to assist the preparation of a new plan.
Councillor Christine Warner, Cabinet Member for Homes and Planning said: “The Local Plan is a guide to where development should take place, in the areas it’s needed. This will help to avoid the type of speculative development, that could have a negative effect on our communities and the environment.
“The Local Plan provides greater stability and certainty for local communities, residents and developers.
“No decisions have been made at this stage, there are three options being suggested for how we can meet future development requirements. By taking part in the consultation residents, businesses and developers will be able to suggest new or amended approaches to those suggested.”
The Issues and Options consultation outlines three options for meeting future development needs. Based on a 15-year period the requirement would be around 29,000 homes and around 150 hectares for employment land. The options consider both accommodating development without Green Belt release and where Green Belt release should be considered as a reasonable alternative option.