Planning issues – update

An update from the Parish Council on two planning issues recently reported on AudlemOnline

Parish Council's letter to the Prime Minister

It appears that our letter of 18 November (click on "Letter to David Cameron") was passed on to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) who prepared a response which totally fails to address the issues raised. The DCLG letter of 6 January (clink on "Reply to Cameron letter") tells us about the legal status of Neighbourhood Plans (which we already know) and gives information on a commitment to build 200,000 Starter Homes at a minimum of 20% discount.
Councillors have written back to the Prime Minister to complain about the inadequacy of the response and asked for the content of the original correspondence to be addressed.

Parish Council's complaint to the Leader of Cheshire East Council re the lack of weight given to our emerging Neighbourhood Plans in planning decision-making.

Members of the Planning Working Group met with Sean Hannaby, Head of Planning, and Cllr Ainsley Arnold, Planning Portfolio Holder, on 7th January and posed a number of questions from Councillors and members of the community.

The CEC representatives were grateful to the Parish Council for raising this matter as it has allowed them to ensure proper processes are put in place in line with the increasing number of communities working on Neighbourhood Plans. It was clear that Cheshire East's planning department is equally as frustrated as Councillors by the rapidly changing planning environment and the apparent dilution of the effectiveness of Neighbourhood Plans which has been demonstrated in recent Appeal rulings.

A copy of the notes taken at the meeting will be posted on the Parish Council section of the website.

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