Date: 21st November 2016
Dear Clerk
CHESHIRE EAST LOCAL PLAN STRATEGY
I am writing to you to update you on the progress of the Cheshire East Local Plan
Strategy.
At the end of October the Council completed 6 weeks of intensive Examination hearings
before the Secretary of State’s Inspector. In all there were over 600 participants in these
hearings with duplicate sessions being held for many of the more popular subjects. This
week the Council received the final representations on the documents submitted during
the Examination – and these will be sent to the Inspector for his consideration.
There have now been 11 weeks of Examination Hearings – a process that often takes
no more than a week in other areas. This is a testament to the developer interest in our
Borough, the engagement of our residents and wide range of different issues that the
plan is required to address.
At the end of the hearings the Inspector commented “I have to say that this has been
the most complex and challenging Local Plan I have ever examined – and I have
examined over 20 of these types of plans over the last 7 years or so”.
The Inspector has indicated that he expects to report ‘by the end of the year’ and this
will then pave the way for the final stages of the Plan and its ultimate adoption. The
adoption of the Local Plan Strategy will have numerous benefits for our borough; it will
provide a stable framework to guide new development, it will be a secure platform for
new investment and it will facilitate much needed new infrastructure. The plan will be
the benchmark for future planning decisions and is the means by which the Council will
finally demonstrate a 5 year supply of housing land.
In October we also published a revised Local Development Scheme which sets out the
other statutory plans that the Council will prepare in the coming years. This includes the
second, more detailed stage of the Local Plan (the Site Allocations and Development
Policies Development Plan Document) and the Minerals and Waste Development Plan
Document. Work is already underway on these plans and the first consultations are
likely to follow in the spring of 2017. Those parishes within the Peak District National
Park will know that the latest stage of the National Park Local Plan is also the subject of
consultation.
When combined with our growing number of Neighbourhood Plans, a comprehensive
set of Planning Documents are now being put in place across Cheshire East.
I hope this update is of assistance and I look forward to working with each and every
Town and parish Council as these plans progress.
Yours sincerely
Cllr Ainsley Arnold
Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Planning & Housing