Issue - meetings

To consider the Local Plan Strategy Review.

Jeremy Owens, Development Planning Manager gave the Committee the background to the report and the findings of the Local Plan Strategy Review.  The Council must review a Local Plan within 5-years of adoption.  The 27^th July 2022 was the deadline for Cheshire East Council.

The Committee was advised there were three areas that the Local Plan Strategy (LPS) must take into account: 

1) Plan policies must remain consistent with National Policy Planning Framework  (NPPF), and this had been revised 3-times during the lifespan of the current Cheshire East Local Plan; 

2) Plans must remain effective, the review found that overall it did and could demonstrate a 5-year supply of housing land;

3) Any local change to circumstances could warrant change, the review found that HS2 required the need for full implications to be addressed along with the Councils new Corporate Plan and commitment to tackle Climate Change.

The Committee was given the opportunity to ask questions, there was some discussion about:

·         If the entire Local Plan needed to be changed, it was expected that this would be an extensive update on the basis that most of plan needed to be updated. 

·         Reassurance that a proactive approach would be taken to support groups who had worked on previous plans, if they are to see significant change;

·         Noting that the housing requirement within the LPS was significantly different to the Local Housing need for Cheshire East, the Development Planning Manager was clear that the Housing need figure was not a substitute, and the LPS housing requirement remained and would remain in place until an update was complete; and

·         Whether a current review of the LPS would become a new plan for beyond 2030, the Committee were advised that the review is expected to be extensive but the scope was not yet defined and this was expected in the next report.  Officers would be working through the detail with the Committee, it was expected the Local Plan would take a number of years to produce and circumstances would change.  The Government would expect the new style Local Plan within 30-months which would be very challenging for the Council.

RESOLVED (Unanimously) That:

a) the findings of the LPS review set out in this report be received and noted;

b) an update to the LPS be carried out; and

c) a further report be brought back to the Committee with a revised Local Development Scheme setting out the timetable for the update.

The Chair Councillor Mick Warren left the meeting and the Vice-Chair Councillor Sarah Pochin took the Chair for the remainder of the meeting.