Cheshire East Council has unveiled its proposed development sites for potential inclusion in the final Local Plan later this year.
The planning blueprint, which has been three years in the making, will set out proposals for new employment sites, homes, road infrastructure projects, as well as new schools and green spaces.
Development sites proposed in the local area include a new settlement on Green Belt land to the east of the A34 Handforth Bypass and two housing developments in Wilmslow are retained in this latest document.
The proposed settlement in Handforth, referred to as the 'North Cheshire Growth Village', includes 1800 homes and supporting infrastructure such as a local retail centre, new secondary and primary schools, leisure facilities, open space and sports pitches. Additional land would also be safeguarded at this site for further development of 500 homes beyond 2030 and a further 200 new houses would be built within Handforth itself.
In Wilmslow 400 new homes are proposed, including 200 on land off Adlington Road, which is largely a greenfield site, and 75 new homes on Green Belt land at the Royal London site where land has also been marked for employment use.
Previous documents proposed to remove land to the west of Royal London from the Green Belt and designate it as safeguarded land, that may be required to serve development needs in the longer term, however this has now been marked as protected open space.
However, the document proposed to safeguard two sites until 2030, the first is in the Lindow area of town (off Upcast Lane and Cumber Lane) and the second is land to the East of the A34 bypass.
Leader of Cheshire East Council Councillor Michael Jones said he was determined to ensure that the Council's proposed Local Plan will be one of the best in the country.
He said: "We've listened and we've acted. The proposed selection of sites will support not just the Council's vision for sustainable growth, but most importantly the people's vision too.
"Rather than increasing the size of villages in the north and south, we are proposing a new village called the North Cheshire Growth Village in Handforth East.
"There are some difficult decisions to make but we believe that what we are now proposing will set out a solid blueprint for our future that will protect us from speculative and opportunistic developers, many of whom place profit before principles."
The Local Plan is a legal document, the process of which must prove to be highly robust if the Planning Inspectorate is to approve next year.
This stage of the Local Plan, entitled the 'Core Strategy', will be lodged with the Planning Inspectorate around the end of the year.
Councillor Jones added: "A sound Local Plan is our best defence against unwanted development and this should not be rushed.
"It is a highly legal process and there must be no doubt that the public are fully engaged and are able to make the necessary representations to influence the process.
"I am proud to say that the consultation responses – more than 28,000 of them – have indeed helped this Council shape the Local Plan to this stage."
As part of the Local Plan vision, £1billion will be invested into the road infrastructure to improve connectivity across the Borough.
The proposed Core Strategy sites of the Local Plan will now go to the Council's Strategic Planning Board on September 26th for comment and consideration. The Board will also be asked if they consider further public consultation is necessary. The final Core Strategy Local Plan will then be completed and presented to a future meeting of full council.
Click here to view a copy of the "Emerging Core Strategy" which contains further information and maps showing all the proposed development sites. (Please note this is a large file and may take a while to download.)
The final Core Strategy Local Plan will then be completed and presented to a future meeting of full council. To receive email alerts on the next stages of the Local Plan go to:www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/localplan.
To have your say on the next stage of the Local Plan visit: www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/localplan. Any public representations made at this stage will go direct to the Planning Inspector via this link.
Maps showing the proposed development sites in Wilmslow and Handforth. Crown copyright and database rights 2013. Ordinance survey 100049045.
