More on Local Plan setback

Last Wednesday, AudlemOnline reported on the just released news that Cheshire East's Local Plan had run into trouble with the Planning Inspectorate.

Since then there has been further comment from a number of sources. A local paper, the Sandbach Chronicle, is based where the council's HQ is. They reported, saying: "Cheshire East's Local Plan was in disarray this week, after a Government planning inspector halted public hearings, declared the plan unsound and suggested it could be withdrawn."

The article went on to blame the council's inability to produce a legally valid document for the rash of controversial planning applications by developers. The paper suggested developers have at least another six months to submit speculative applications.

The newspaper asked council leader Michael Jones whether there should be resignations at the council. Mr Jones replied: "Heads will be spinning, this is clearly something that we know more about and officers are now working hard to get this Local Plan done."

One of the main points raised by the Planning Inspectorate about the Local Plan was: "There is a serious mismatch between the economic strategy and the housing strategy of the submitted plan, particularly in the constrained relationship between the proposed level of jobs and the amount of new housing."

Adrian Fisher, head of planning at Cheshire East Council, responded, saying: 'We must now do further work to ensure that our housing requirements match up with the economic requirement."

Remarkably, when BBC North West reported on the issue last week, they said the Planning Inspectorate wanted to see 40,000 homes, rather than the 26,000 proposed, over the next twenty years by the current version of Local Plan. That seems to suggest a very substantial increase in the borough's population.

Responding to the setback, Cheshire East's Michael Jones said: ""This means more neighbourhood plans and some interim policies be put in place, as well as communications with the Government, which have already begun, to ensure that Cheshire East Council's Local Plan is brought to fruition as soon as possible."

What does seem concerning in all this mess, is that planning now seems to be run by the Planning Inspectorate rather than the duly elected local authority, or are we misunderstanding what's going on.

What those who sat through the seven days of the Gladman hearing in May will remember is that arguments and manipulation of statistics and judgements about housing needs and supply can go on forever without reaching a conclusion. It seems that Cheshire East's Local Plan may be going the same way.

Fortunately, locally, both the public and Audlem Parish Council voted for the so-called Residents' First 'fast-track' approach and a Neighbourhood Plan at two meetings in July.

The steering group has been meeting in recent weeks to carry this out and you can read the minutes of the latest meeting last Wednesday shortly.

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