Our response to the new Chester East local plan consultation highlights the opportunities for new developments and recognises the need for more affordable housing. However, we also advise caution and stress that the council must not forget local communities, and we encourage them to adopt a place-based, infrastructure-led approach.

Cheshire East Council has begun preparing a new Local Plan that will shape development across the borough into the 2040s. It will influence where new homes and employment sites are located, how infrastructure is provided and how community facilities and the environment are protected.

The first stage is a scoping consultation, open until 5pm on 1 September 2026. Cheshire Community Action has responded with a particular focus on rural housing, community facilities, neighbourhood planning and the relationship between housing growth and local services.

Growth must support sustainable communities

CCA recognises the need for new homes, including affordable housing for local people. However, the success of the Local Plan should not be measured only by the number of homes built.

Across rural Cheshire, communities often report that housing growth has not been matched by investment in schools, health services, transport, drainage, shops, digital connectivity or community facilities. In some places, populations have grown while services have been reduced or centralised.

The Local Plan should therefore take an infrastructure-led approach, with homes, employment, transport, public services and community facilities planned together.

Rural housing and community facilities

Rural communities face particular pressures, including high house prices, limited rented accommodation and shortages of smaller and accessible homes. This can make it difficult for younger people, local workers and families to remain in their communities, while older residents may struggle to find suitable homes if they wish to downsize.

CCA believes borough-wide evidence should be supported by parish-level housing-needs information, neighbourhood plans and local surveys. The emerging Cheshire and Warrington Rural Needs Analysis should also inform the plan, recognising the close relationship between housing, transport, digital connectivity, service access and community infrastructure.

Village halls, community centres and places of worship should be treated as essential social infrastructure. As well as supporting social activities, many host health services, advice, childcare, adult learning, exercise, digital access and emergency support. They should be protected, supported and considered when development creates additional demand.

Building on local knowledge

Cheshire East has a strong neighbourhood planning tradition. These plans contain valuable evidence about housing, design, infrastructure, green spaces and community facilities and represent a significant commitment from parish and town councils and local volunteers.

The new Local Plan should build on this work. Where strategic proposals differ from neighbourhood plan priorities, communities should be involved early and given a clear explanation.

The voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector should also be involved as a partner in shaping the plan. These organisations manage buildings and land, deliver services and provide trusted links to communities.

How will the Local Plan progress?

The plan is being prepared through a new 30-month formal process. Following the current scoping consultation, the main proposed stages are:

  • 30 October 2026: the Council publishes its initial readiness assessment
  • 5 July to 16 August 2027: consultation on the proposed content of the plan and its supporting evidence
  • 3 May to 28 June 2028: consultation on the proposed Local Plan
  • September 2028: submission for independent examination
  • March 2029: proposed adoption of the new Local Plan

The timetable may be updated as the plan progresses. The Local Plan will also need to align with the emerging Cheshire and Warrington Spatial Development Strategy being prepared through the new Combined Authority.

Have your say

The current consultation is about what the new Local Plan should cover and how communities should be involved. It is not yet a consultation on specific housing sites.

Parish and town councils, neighbourhood planning groups, community building committees and local organisations may wish to consider whether housing growth has been matched by infrastructure, what housing is needed locally and which community facilities require protection or investment.

Responses must be submitted to Cheshire East Council by 5pm on 1 September 2026.

READ OUR FULL RESPONSE TO THE CONSULTATION HERE

We aim to give Cheshire communities a stronger voice by engaging with and supporting them in influencing the places, spaces and services that are important to them.

We work throughout Cheshire West & Chester, Cheshire East, Halton, and Warrington. Although we were originally founded to assist rural communities, in recent years, we have branched out to provide support in larger towns and their suburbs. 

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