Following the resumption of the Local Plan examination in August and the holding of seven days of hearings in October, Local Plan Inspector Stephen Pratt has now issued his further interim views.
The Inspector broadly supports the further evidential work carried out by the Council, saying "The nature, scope and approach of the additional evidence has largely met the concerns set out in my earlier Interim Views relating to the adequacy of the evidence base".
However, he is unable to fully endorse the key elements and conclusions of the additional evidence until further consultation had been held and the site-specific aspects of the Local Plan had been examined.
Inspector Stephen Pratt states "Firstly, the scope, nature and content of the additional evidence has significant and wide-ranging implications for the submitted Local Plan Strategy (LPS), not only for the overall amount of housing, the economic strategy and employment land requirements, but also the replacement of a proposed new area of Green Belt in the south of the borough with a Strategic Green Gaps policy and a reassessment of the amount of Safeguarded Land.
"In addition, it will require the identification of additional or amended strategic site allocations to meet the revised development requirements, which will probably include releasing land from the Green Belt, particularly in the north of the borough; CEC has not yet made any decisions on the revised selection of strategic sites to meet these needs."
In terms of the economy, the inspector said "CEC seems to have adopted a balanced and rational approach to economic and jobs growth, which is both ambitious and aspirational, yet realistic and with a reasonable prospect of success".
On housing and the objectively assessed need (OAN) for 36,000 new homes he said: "CEC seems to have reached a reasonably balanced judgement about the relationship between new jobs and houses, which is supported by the evidence and would result in sustainable levels of migration and commuting and patterns of development, in line with the guidance in the national planning policy framework (NPPF) and planning practice guidance (PPG)."
Additionally the inspector noted that "The approach set out in the green belt update assessment seems to reflect national policy and address most of the shortcomings of the previous green belt assessment".
The suggested amount of safeguarded land was considered "logical, rational, effective and justified by the supporting evidence" and commenting on the distribution of development the inspector said "It also seems to be based on sound technical and professional judgements and a balancing exercise, which reflects a comprehensive and coherent understanding of the characteristics, development needs, opportunities and constraints of each settlement".
The Inspector concluded "Although the additional evidence produced during the suspension period has been subject to limited engagement with stakeholders and other interested parties, there has been no formal public consultation on this evidence or the changes to the LPS needed to accommodate its conclusions.
"Furthermore, CEC has not yet completed its selection of additional and amended strategic sites necessary to meet the increased housing and employment land requirements. This leads me to conclude that the proposed amendments to the LPS should be finalised and fully completed, and most importantly, subject to full and unfettered public consultation, with the Council's responses, before it is formally submitted for examination. This would ensure that all views are represented and considered and all aspects of the amended LPS can be considered at one time."
Councillor Rachel Bailey, Cabinet member in charge of the Local Plan said: "I am delighted that the inspector has broadly supported the Council's approach.
"With his endorsement in principle, we can now press full ahead in progressing the Local Plan to its later stages. The next step will be to present a comprehensive set of proposed changes to a full meeting of the Council before carrying out wide-ranging public consultation over a six-week period.
"I would like to thank all those who participated in the recent in the recent examination hearings and look forward to ongoing engagement as the Local Plan process continues.
"We appreciate that the inspector cannot reach any final views at this stage – and that the revised evidence naturally requires significant change to the submitted strategy. However we now have a clear sense of how to move forward.
"This shows that our diligent efforts over the past year have proved well worthwhile and I believe the Local Plan is now on a firm footing and moving in the right direction."
The full report is available to view on the Cheshire East Local Plan Strategy Examination Library, reference RE A021.
Photo: Councillor Rachel Bailey.
