Cheshire East's Local Plan

Following yesterday's story on yet another large planning application for housing possibly coming Audlem's way, we have been sent the following information by a contact with an update on Local Plans.

As regular readers will be aware, previous planning applications at Little Heath and Heathfield have gone through largely because of the lack of an approved Local Plan in Cheshire East and a 5-Year Housing Supply that has been acceptable to the Planning Inspectorate.

Our contact says: "The government is to set a cut-off date by which local authorities must have up to date local plans in place. The deadline will be announced before the summer recess.

"This could affect more than half of authorities, depending on how 'up to date' is defined. Is a plan found sound and adopted prior to the NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework) automatically out of date as some planning consultants have suggested?

"Where plans are not up to date, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government will intervene for those local authorities that do not produce them, to arrange for local plans to be written, in consultation with local people."

This information follows concerns published on 30th June in the Macclesfield Express that Cheshire East's Local Plan may be questioned by the Planning Inspectorate yet again.

The newspaper reported that: "After the inspector Stephen Pratt found 'serious failings' in the plan in November 2014, he gave the council six months to sort the plan out and submit amendments.

The council subsequently paid for reports which show there needs to be an extra 7,000 homes and 31,410 new jobs by 2030. (Reported in May on AudlemOnline.)

Mr Pratt has warned Cheshire East Council in a recent email that the changes it intends to make may be too significant and that it's at risk of having to scrap the plan and submit a new one, saying:

"Consultation on a significantly amended overall housing and employment land provision figure, along with a set of new or amended sites, may constitute the type of substantial amendment which might suggest that the submitted plan should be withdrawn and resubmitted when all necessary community engagement and public consultation has been completed."

Responding in the Macclesfield Express, Audlem Councillor Rachel Bailey, chair of the Local Plan Task Force, said: "The Inspector is simply reminding the Council that any revisions to the Local Plan Strategy should not give rise to a fundamentally different plan.

"This repeats his earlier advice given with his interim views. We anticipate that the revisions to the Local Plan will be within the tolerances accepted in other examinations around the country.

"However, we recognise that the Inspector will need to form his own judgement on the matter in due course.

Rachel Bailey added: "At present, we are focusing on providing the necessary additional information by the agreed deadline of the end of July."

If this latest scheme, reported yesterday on AudlemOnline, does become a formal planning application, whether or not Cheshire East has completed its Local Plan will be of prime importance when that application is assessed both by the council and at any subsequent appeal.

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