Local Plan Strategy Statement of Consultation
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PreSubmission Front green Hi ResPage 1 11/02/2014 14:11:51 Cheshire East Local Plan Local Plan Strategy Statement of Consultation C M Y CM March 2014 MY CY CMY K Chapters 1 Introduction 2 2 The Regulations 4 3 Core Strategy Issues and Options Paper (2010) 5 4 Place Shaping (2011) 10 5 Rural Issues (2011) 16 6 Minerals Issues Discussion Paper (2012) 20 7 Town Strategies Phase 1 (2012) 26 8 Wilmslow Vision (Town Strategies Phase 2) (2012) 29 9 Town Strategies Phase 3 (2012) 31 10 Development Strategy and Policy Principles (2013) 35 11 Possible Additional Sites (2013) 42 12 Pre-Submission Core Strategy and Non-Preferred Sites (2013) 45 13 Next Steps 51 Appendices A Consultation Stages 53 B List of Bodies and Persons Invited to Make Representations 56 C Pre-Submission Core Strategy Main Issues and Council's Responses 64 D Non-Preferred Sites Main Issues and Council's Reponses 72 E List of Media Coverage 79 Contents CHESHIRE EAST Local Plan Strategy Statement of Consultation: March 2014 1 1 Introduction 1.1 This Statement of Consultation sets out the details of publicity and consultation undertaken to prepare and inform the Cheshire East Local Plan Strategy. It sets out how the Local Planning Authority has complied with Regulations 18, 19 and 20 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning)(England) Regulations 2012 in the preparation of the Local Plan Strategy (formerly known as the Core Strategy). 1.2 From the beginning of the process the Council have made extensive effort to engage relevant agencies and the public in the formulation and refinement of planning policies and proposals. At each stage of the Local Plan Strategy preparation process the Council have adhered to the standards for consultation set out in the Council's Statement of Community Involvement,(1) as well as that established through Government legislation and guidance, and in fact gone beyond those requirements, as illustrated in Appendix A of this document. This has including publicising the consultations, inviting representations to be submitted and using the comments received to identify and address key issues through the preparation of the Local Plan Strategy. 1.3 This Statement will summarise the steps that have been taken to publicise, consult and engage with all the consultation bodies at each preparation stage of the Local Plan Strategy, how this meets or exceeds the Council's Statement of Community Involvement and how it meets legislative requirements. It will also summarise the main issues raised by the representations and detail how those representations have been addressed through the Local Plan Strategy. 1.4 For the purposes of this Statement it should be noted that the preparation of the Local Plan Strategy spanned two planning frameworks; initially that of the Local Development Framework (LDF), which latterly became the Local Plan following changes to national Government policies and the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework in 2012. 1.5 Consultation that was undertaken under the LDF system is applicable to the preparation of the Local Plan and so this Statement will cover that consultation also. 1.6 There have been a number of stages in the development of the Local Plan Strategy. The consultation stages and associated evidence base collected to support the Local Plan Strategy has allowed the Council to develop a greater understanding of the issues and opportunities that exist in Cheshire East. Responses received during each previous consultation stage have been considered and changes made to the overall approach to the Local Plan Strategy as and when considered appropriate. The key stages in the development of the Local Plan Strategy are set out in Figure 1.1. 1 http://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/planning/spatial_planning/cheshire_east_local_plan/community_involvement.aspx Introduction 2 CHESHIRE EAST Local Plan Strategy Statement of Consultation: March 2014 Core Strategy ‘Issues and Options’ Paper Autumn 2010 Identified issues in Cheshire East, provided a vision for taking the Borough forward and suggested options for development to achieve that vision. Place Shaping Consultation Summer 2011 Snapshots of the individual towns to discover the views of the public about their town or village. Rural Issues Summary Document Autumn 2011 Identified some of the key challenges facing rural areas to be addressed in the Local Plan. Minerals Issues Discussion Paper Plan Evidence Base Plan Evidence Spring 2012 To determine the approach to strategic minerals planning issues. Local Local Town Strategies Spring and Summer 2012 Provided the vision, strategy and potential development Ongoing options for Principal Towns and Key Service Centres. Development Strategy and Emerging Policy Principles The Story so far . far so The Story January / February 2013 Set out the policy directions for the proposed Local Plan, including the level of growth and the emerging policy principles. Possible Additional Sites Proposed by Developer and Land Interests May 2013 Included a number of potential strategic sites submitted by Developer and Land Interests that Consolidation and expansion of the had not previously been subject to consultation Pre-Submission Core Strategy Consultation Autumn 2013 Consultation on the first draft of the Plan including all non-preferred sites CURRENT STAGE: Local Plan Strategy Submission Document Spring 2014 Public Examination of the Local Plan Strategy and Inspector’s Report Summer / Autumn 2014 Adoption of the Local Plan Strategy Winter 2014 Next Steps Next Site Allocations and Development Policies Document Throughout 2014 / 2015 Figure 1.1 Key Stages in the Development of the Local Plan Strategy 1.7 Copies of the Council's Statement of Community Involvement, this Statement and all other published Local Plan documents are available on the Council's website at www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/localplan. Introduction CHESHIRE EAST Local Plan Strategy Statement of Consultation: March 2014 3 2 The Regulations 2.1 This Statement has been produced in accordance with the requirement under Regulations 18, 19 and 20 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 (the Regulations) to publish a statement setting out: i. Which bodies and persons were invited to make representations. ii. How those bodies and persons were invited to make representations. iii. A summary of the main issues made by those representations. iv. How those main issues have been addressed in the Local Plan Strategy. 2.2 The Regulations state that the Council, in its role as Local Planning Authority, must notify a range of agencies, organisations and individuals at each preparation stage of the Local Plan and invite them to make representations on its content. These representations must then be taken into consideration in the development of the Local Plan. 2.3 The bodies to be notified include those specific consultation bodies referred to in the Regulations, adjacent Authorities, Town and Parish Councils, representatives of the Local Strategic Partnership (Partnership for Action in Cheshire East)/Local Area Partnership, business interests and major landowners including developers and agents, infrastructure providers, interest groups and hard to reach groups. In addition the Council publicise each consultation stage and invite representations from the general public. 2.4 In Appendix B of this document there is a list of the bodies consulted on the preparation of the Local Plan Strategy prior to its formal publication in March 2014; other bodies, for example Cheshire Local Nature Partnership, the Civil Aviation Authority and Manchester Airport, have been consulted through the Duty to Cooperate obligation introduced by the Localism Act (2011). Cheshire East's Duty to Cooperate Statement of Compliance can be found on the Council's website.(2) In addition private individuals who had expressed an interest in the Local Plan Strategy have been consulted at various stages, as well as local Councillors, other Council departments and other bodies including Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and North West Ambulance Service. There were 13,875 active consultees registered on the Council's Local Plan consultation database at the end of the Pre-Submission Core Strategy consultation. Statement of Community Involvement 2.5 The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) sets out how Cheshire East Borough Council intends to involve all sectors of the community in the planning process. Both in the preparation of planning policy through the Local Development Framework (LDF) (now known as the Local Plan); and in the determination of planning applications. A draft SCI was consulted on between 23rd November 2009 and 18th January 2010 and the Statement was adopted on 14th October 2010. 2.6 All consultation has been carried out in accordance with the Statement of Community Involvement, as illustrated in Appendix A of this document. A list of media coverage for the consultation stages undertaken as part of the preparation of the Local Plan Strategy can be found in Appendix E of this document. 2 http://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/planning/spatial_planning/research_and_evidence.aspx The Regulations 4 CHESHIRE EAST Local Plan Strategy Statement of Consultation: March 2014 3 Core Strategy Issues and Options Paper (2010) 3.1 Cheshire East Council’s consultation on the Issues and Options for the Core Strategy took place between 8 November and 20 December 2010. In addition, Parish and Town Councils that requested extra time to enable them to make their submissions were given until 31 January 2011. Any other representations that were received during this period were also accepted. 3.2 The Issues and Options Paper set out options for the overall strategy for the future of the Borough and asked some fundamental questions about what Cheshire East should look like in 2030, how much growth should be included in the Core Strategy and where, in a broad sense, the development should be located. The document sets out a vision for the future of the Borough and included a number of strategic priorities for consultation.