We are seeking your views on the what the new local plan for Cheshire East should contain. The local plan scoping consultation is open until 5pm on 1 September.
2 New local plan
2.1 The local plan sets a long-term vision and strategic priorities to shape the development of the borough. It sits alongside the National Planning Policy Framework and neighbourhood plans to provide the planning policy framework for making decisions on planning applications and in many ways will act as an investment framework for the borough. Local plans can address matters such as:
- the amount and locations of new housing and employment development
- protection and improvement of open areas
- provision of new infrastructure
- improvement of town centres and community facilities
- provision of minerals
- management of waste
- adapting to climate change
- promoting healthy and safe communities
- seeking good design in new developments
- enabling growth of the local economy
- supporting the provision of sustainable transport
- protection and enhancement of our historic environment.
Why prepare a new local plan?
2.2 The current local plan consists of the Local Plan Strategy (adopted in 2017), the Site Allocations and Development Policies Document (adopted in 2022) and saved policies from the Cheshire Waste Plan (adopted 2007) and the Cheshire Minerals Plan (adopted 1999).
2.3 The current plan covers the period up to 2030, and we now need to prepare a new plan because:
- the government’s new plan-making system requires plans to be reviewed at least once every five years.
- The current plan is nearing the end of its plan period
- National planning policy and guidance has changed significantly since the current plan was put in place
2.4 An up-to-date new local plan will provide significant benefits to the whole area by:
- giving communities and developers confidence about what development is acceptable and where
- providing a long-term vision and enabling a coordinated approach to land use, infrastructure provision, design and environmental protection
- enabling infrastructure, services and growth to be planned together
2.5 The government has introduced a standardised way of calculating local housing needs which is known as the “standard method”. This approach has increased the housing requirement in the borough to 2,530 homes per year.
Developing the new local plan
2.6 In advance of making a formal start, we carried out some informal and background work. We consulted on an issues paper and ran a ‘call for sites’ exercise in 2024, followed by a further ‘call for sites’ in early 2026 to help us to understand what land may be available for development. Initial work to develop the evidence base is also in progress. This includes transport modelling, green belt assessment, a review of the current provision of infrastructure, a gypsy and traveller accommodation needs assessment and consideration of the potential future needs for housing and economic development.
2.7 The new plan-making system requires us to publish a local plan timetable and a ‘notice of intention to commence local plan preparation’ before formal work on the new local plan can start. We published these on 12 June 2026.
2.8 From the date of publishing the notice of intention to commence plan making, we must wait for at least 4 months. During this period, we are required to consult on the scope of the local plan (this consultation), seeking views on what the plan should contain and how future engagement should be carried out.
2.9 Following the formal start (anticipated to be on 30th October 2026, as we pass through ‘Gateway 1’), the new plan should be prepared, examined and put in place within 30 months. There are 2 formal consultation stages during the plan preparation:
- proposed local plan content and evidence consultation anticipated to be held during summer 2027: focus here is on the plan’s draft vision, its aims and objectives, the overall development needs, the proposed spatial strategy for where development will happen, and a summary of all the evidence assembled and any further evidence to obtain.
- proposed local plan consultation anticipated to be held during spring/summer 2028: seeking views on the complete draft local plan before submitting it to the Planning Inspectorate for examination.