Out-Law News 1 min. read
10 May 2012, 5:21 pm
The Neighbourhood Forums drafted the town strategies with support from the Council, as administrator for the pilots. The strategies were drawn up for the Alsager, Congleton, Middlewich and Sandbach areas.
The Town Strategies have been prepared as part of the community engagement on the Cheshire East Local Plan and will form part of the evidence base for the new Local Plan, the Council said.
Although they will have limited weight because they are not strictly part of the Development Plan, they will be a material consideration and so some weight must be given to them.
The draft plans include development options for important sites and features of each town deemed unattractive, such as redundant land and vacant buildings.
In Alsager the development options include a mixed-use scheme on 54 acres land which is part of the former Manchester Metropolitan University campus.
In Sandbach potential development areas have been identified that would accommodate 950 homes and provide 91 acres of employment land by 2030. Priority is given to existing town centre brownfield sites but greenfield sites in agricultural settings next to junction 17 of the M6 and west of the A534 Wheelock bypass are also suggested.
"We've put a lot of thought into how the environment of the various towns can be improved. We've looked at how new development can boost infrastructure, such as roads, open spaces and schools," said Councillor David Brown. "The draft strategies include lots of ideas for future development in each town. But I want to make clear that no decisions have been made about any of the sites suggested - we want to know what you think about them first."
"The Town Strategies will to be used to prepare the new Local Plan for Cheshire East," said Brown.
Cheshire East's approach means the town strategies will not have to go through examinations and referendums as required for a neighbourhood plan under Localism Act, because they are just being used as a basis to draft the Local Plan.
