Planning Meeting Report

Public Planning Meeting January 22nd 2015

Around 50 residents braved the cold on Thursday night to attend a Public meeting at the Scout & Guide Hall that had been called by the Parish Council.

They heard how Cheshire East Council's lack of a 5 year Housing Land Supply had resulted in the approval of the application for 26 houses at Heathfield Road and the recent decision of the Planning Inspector to allow the Gladman proposal for 120 houses at Little Heath to go ahead. Several questions were asked by those present, a key one being 'what can we do to prevent more large scale development'?

Heather Jones, Chair of the Parish Council, reminded everyone of the decision taken in July to produce a 'fast track' Neighbourhood Plan (NP) that has statutory weight in planning decision making. She explained the activity that had taken place since then in designating the Neighbourhood area (Audlem Parish boundary) and applying for funding.

A Steering Committee had been formed from the group of residents who had volunteered to help with the task and members of the Steering Committee were introduced. In the light of recent planning decisions it was proposed to do a 'housing focused' NP as quickly as possible to help protect the village against further speculative development.

It is crucial that the NP reflects what residents believe is important to protect and enhance the village for the future.

John Stead spoke about the draft Vision for Audlem on which residents will be asked to comment.

Geoff Seddon reported on a Housing Questionnaire, which will go to every household at the end of the month. Residents were urged to complete and return this by 14 February, as it was a vital part of the evidence base for the Neighbourhood Plan.

Working groups have already been set up to look into housing need, the design of any future housing, open and green space and employment. It was explained that consideration will be given to how we could use the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) to help remedy the many infrastructure issues (such as pressure on the medical practice and parking) that an increased number of homes would bring.

Roland Hall explained the difference between a Parish Plan and an NP. He then went on to outline the next steps in the NP process:

• Analysis of the Housing questionnaire
• Drop in sessions and workshops to see the outcome of the questionnaire and give input and feedback
• Drafting policies to support residents' views
• Writing a pre-submission draft

The aim is to get all this done by May 2015, which is a very challenging time frame. There will then be a 6 week consultation period during which residents, employers, statutory consultees and adjacent Parishes will be given an opportunity to review the draft prior to submission to Cheshire East Council for Inspection and a referendum

Resident participation is vital if Audlem is to create a successful Neighbourhood Plan to give some control over the shape and design of our village over the next 15-20 years . It is only by completing and returning the questionnaire and attending the workshops that we can find out what residents want to see happen in the village.

All residents were urged to give their full support to getting the Neighbourhood Plan completed in the fastest possible time.

A number of questions were raised and the Steering Committee will be reviewing various suggestions made over the next few weeks.

Key Actions:
26 -27 January – Neighbourhood Plan Newsletter delivered
31 January – Housing questionnaire delivered
14 February – Housing questionnaire to be returned
Mid/end February – workshops and drop-in sessions (to be advertised)

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