Cheshire East Council has announced they are set to engage with villages and rural areas over the detailed stages of the Local Plan.
The Local Plan has focussed, thus far, on larger towns and the main strategic development sites. As this stage nears completion, the Council will start to focus at a more detailed level.
Cheshire East Council Deputy Leader Councillor David Brown, Cabinet member in charge of strategic communities, said: "We want to work closely with villages and rural parishes to ensure we get a detailed planning framework in place.
"We want to hear from villages about their future development needs – for businesses, recreation or community facilities.
"The recent assessment showing Cheshire East has a five-year supply of housing land should also provide the opportunity for a more measured approach to housing, giving time for local communities to consider their future requirements."
Cheshire East Council last week published its latest assessment of housing land supply in the Borough – which shows that the authority now has more than a five-year supply of housing land, inclusive of a five-per cent buffer for choice and competition.
The latest assessment includes evidence on housing completions and planning permissions up to December 31st 2013.
Amongst the local sites identified within this latest assessment are the former Beech Lawn and Woodbridge site on Brook Lane, land to the rear of Oak Park on Heyes Lane (site of the former Royal Oak), land at Oatlands and the County Hotel.
The five-year-housing supply report will go before a meeting of the Council's Strategic Planning Board on Wednesday, February 5th.
The five-year housing requirement is 8,311 homes (inclusive of a five per cent buffer) and the identified supply is 9,757 homes – equivalent to 5.87 years.
I contacted Cheshire East Council to enquire what form this engagement with local villages will take and whether sites previously mentioned sites will form part of this, or have since been discarded. Such as the Green Belt land between the Alderley Edge bypass and Wilmslow Road (opposite Horseshoe Farm & Ryleys Playing Field) which was included in the SHLAA as a site for 103 dwellings; Green Belt land to the north of Beech Road which was included in the 'Possible Additional Sites' consultation in May 2013 for the development of 200 to 250 dwellings and land at Ryleys Farm which is included in the SHLAA as a potential site for 1,460 homes.
A spokesperson for Cheshire East responded "It is too early in the process to answer these questions. Announcements on the specifics of engagement/consultation will be made in due course."
The Council's Local Plan document is due to be ratified by the Government later this year. The Local Plan will then provide a blueprint for necessary sustainable growth in terms of housing and infrastructure.
For more information about the Local Plan, visit the Council's website.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.