Local plan scoping consultation

Comment

Representation ID: 4414

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Lostwood Estate LTD

Agent: SATPLAN Ltd

Increase in Housing Requirements
The Council must ensure that it can meet its identified housing needs in full through a
realistic and deliverable strategy.
Policy S1 of the NPPF 2026 requires development plans to plan positively for future growth
and change and, as a minimum, to seek to meet the development needs of their area. In
the absence of an adopted Spatial Development Strategy, this means providing for
objectively assessed housing needs, supporting infrastructure and other uses, subject to
the limited circumstances identified in national policy. The revised standard method
requirement will require the Council to plan positively for a much more significant level of
housing growth than previously planned for. The Local Plan should therefore identify a
genuinely deliverable and resilient portfolio of locations capable of delivering substantial
numbers of homes alongside supporting infrastructure, community facilities and
environmental enhancements. This should include appropriate Open Countryside and
sustainable settlement-edge locations. Policy HO2 also makes clear that housing
requirement figures should reflect the extent to which identified needs can be
accommodated over the plan period as a minimum and may appropriately be higher
where necessary to reflect wider growth ambitions.

Comment

Representation ID: 5412

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Lostwood Estate LTD

Agent: SATPLAN Ltd

Spatial Development Strategy
It is acknowledged that Cheshire East is now part of the Cheshire and Warrington
Combined Authority area and will be required to prepare a Spatial Development Strategy
(SDS) for Cheshire and Warrington. This is welcomed and presents a positive opportunity
for sustainable development in Cheshire East and across the sub-region. Policy PM1 of
the NPPF 2026 requires an SDS to set a positive vision for future growth and change at a
sub-regional scale and to provide a clear spatial framework for investment and growth. It
is further welcomed that the Council acknowledges national policy is clear that local plan
preparation should not be delayed.
The Spatial Development Strategy should provide a positive and deliverable framework
for meeting the sub-region's development needs and, under Policy PM1, should plan
across a period of at least 25 years. Its role is strategic: it should identify the broad
distribution and broad locations for growth, while the Local Plan remains the appropriate
mechanism for detailed site allocations and locally specific policy. The emerging SDS
should therefore not become a reason for delaying the Cheshire East Local Plan or
deferring assessment of sustainable individual sites. Where an SDS housing requirement
is subsequently established, Policy HO2 provides that the figure should not be retested
through Local Plan preparation unless there has been a significant change in
circumstances affecting the overall requirement or its distribution. In the meantime, the
Local Plan should progress the evidence, site-selection and allocation work necessary to
deliver a positive and resilient strategy.

Comment

Representation ID: 5413

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Lostwood Estate LTD

Agent: SATPLAN Ltd

Supplementary Planning Documents including Design Guide
Lostwood Estates Ltd supports the objective of securing high-quality and locally distinctive
development. However, the Council should establish its principal design expectations
through a strategic design framework prepared as an integral part of the Local Plan, rather
than deferring significant policy requirements to subsequent supplementary guidance.
This is particularly important where design requirements affect density, developable area,
housing typologies, parking, landscaping, materials or other matters with cost and viability
implications. Establishing these expectations through the Local Plan process would allow
them to be tested through whole-plan viability assessment, thereby providing greater
certainty that allocated sites can deliver the quantum of development assumed by the Plan.
Any strategic framework should set clear principles while retaining sufficient flexibility for
site-specific masterplanning and design codes to respond to local character, site
circumstances, market requirements and changing methods of construction over the
lifetime of the Plan. Early engagement with housebuilders, landowners and other delivery
partners should form part of its preparation. The Council should also have particular
regard to Policy PM6 of the NPPF 2026, which requires development plans to avoid
policies that duplicate, substantively restate or are inconsistent with national policies for
decision-making.

Comment

Representation ID: 5414

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Lostwood Estate LTD

Agent: SATPLAN Ltd

Plan Period
Lostwood Estates Ltd considers that the Council should give careful consideration to
whether a plan period longer than the national minimum would provide a more effective
long-term strategy. Policy PM2 of the NPPF 2026 requires Local Plans to set out their
spatial strategy, minimum development provision, allocations and broad locations for
growth for a period of no less than 10 years from adoption. Importantly, national policy
expressly allows Local Plans to cover a longer period where this would, for example,
support the delivery of longer-term infrastructure or strategic development.
Accordingly, the five-year review mechanism should not be treated as a substitute for
selecting an appropriately long planning horizon at the outset. Reviews ensure policies
remain effective and up to date; they do not remove the need to plan comprehensively for
growth, infrastructure investment and strategic development over a period which reflects
local circumstances.
Given the scale of housing growth which Cheshire East will need to accommodate, the
lead-in times associated with strategic infrastructure and larger housing sites, and the
emerging Cheshire and Warrington SDS with its minimum 25-year strategic horizon, there
is a strong case for a Local Plan period longer than the minimum 10 years where this
would improve certainty and delivery. The proposed 15-year period is capable of
complying with national policy, but the Council should demonstrate that it is sufficiently
long to plan effectively for the full infrastructure and development implications of the
strategy and to provide a robust supply of development opportunities throughout the plan
period. This is directly relevant to the land north of Bradeley Hall Farm, where the potential
long-standing North East Crewe Bypass alignment illustrates the need to coordinate future
growth with strategic infrastructure over an appropriately long planning horizon.

Comment

Representation ID: 5415

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Lostwood Estate LTD

Agent: SATPLAN Ltd

Planning for Growth
The new Local Plan should plan positively for growth in accordance with Policy S1 of the
NPPF 2026 and provide sufficient flexibility to ensure that identified housing needs can be
met throughout the plan period. The strategy should be based on realistic assumptions
regarding site delivery, infrastructure and market capacity, and should avoid relying on an
overly constrained or marginal supply of land. Policy HO3 requires Local Plans to identify
a sufficient supply and mix of sites to meet or exceed the housing requirement over the
plan period; the Council should therefore build resilience into the strategy rather than plan
only to the minimum numerical requirement.
A sufficient range and choice of deliverable and developable sites should be identified
across the Borough, including appropriate contingency and flexibility to respond to
changing circumstances. This will help to maintain housing delivery, support investment in
infrastructure and services, and reduce the risk that the Plan becomes out of date because
individual allocations do not progress at the rate anticipated.

Comment

Representation ID: 5416

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Lostwood Estate LTD

Agent: SATPLAN Ltd

Settlement Hierarchy
The settlement hierarchy should be informed by up-to-date evidence of the role and
function of settlements, including access to services, employment, public transport and
infrastructure. It should provide a framework for directing growth, but should not operate
as a rigid ceiling on development where a settlement is capable of accommodating
additional sustainable growth.
The Council should consider the capacity of settlements to support new housing and the
opportunities for development to sustain local services, facilities and public transport. The
hierarchy should therefore be capable of reflecting differences in sustainability and
development potential within and between settlements, rather than relying solely on
historic classifications.
Where settlements are well located, have an established range of services and facilities,
and can accommodate growth without unacceptable impacts, the Local Plan should allow
an appropriate scale of development to contribute towards meeting the Borough's housing
requirement.

Comment

Representation ID: 5417

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Lostwood Estate LTD

Agent: SATPLAN Ltd

Spatial Distribution
The spatial distribution of development should be based on a transparent assessment of
sustainability, housing need, infrastructure capacity, deliverability and market
considerations. It should ensure that growth is distributed across the Borough in a manner
which supports sustainable communities and provides a realistic range and choice of
housing sites.
The strategy should not become over-reliant on a small number of large strategic
allocations or on an assumption that windfall development will continue to make up any
shortfall. A more robust approach is to plan for a genuine margin of flexibility, including
a range of smaller and medium-sized deliverable sites in sustainable settlements. This
would provide resilience where major sites are delayed, improve market choice and help
maintain a consistent trajectory of housing delivery across the plan period. This approach
is reinforced by Policy HO6 of the NPPF 2026, which requires Local Plans, unless there
are strong reasons otherwise, to allocate land accommodating at least 10% of the housing
requirement on sites no larger than one hectare and a further 10% on sites between one
and two-and-a-half hectares.
A balanced portfolio of sites across different settlements and market areas will provide
greater resilience and help maintain housing delivery throughout the plan period. Policy
HO6 also requires Local Plans to allocate sites which support and enhance the vitality of
rural communities and enable villages to grow and thrive, especially where this will support
local services. This reinforces the need for the spatial strategy to consider sustainable
growth opportunities across Cheshire East rather than concentrating delivery in a small
number of locations or site types.
Where sustainable opportunities exist at settlement edges, including land currently within
the open countryside where release is justified through the plan-making process, these
should be assessed consistently alongside brownfield and non-Green Belt alternatives
including open countryside locations.

Comment

Representation ID: 5418

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Lostwood Estate LTD

Agent: SATPLAN Ltd

Strategic Green Gaps and Settlement Gaps
The preparation of the new Local Plan provides an appropriate opportunity to undertake
a comprehensive and evidence-based review of the extent, purpose and continued
justification for existing Strategic Green Gap and other settlement gap designations.
Green Gap policy should be clearly distinguished from Green Belt policy, and existing
boundaries should not simply be treated as fixed constraints or rolled forward without an
up-to-date assessment of the contribution made by individual parcels.
This review is particularly important having regard to Policy S2 of the NPPF 2026, which
provides that designations and associated policies intended to safeguard gaps between
settlements should be used only where necessary to maintain the separate identities of
settlements and their physical separation, should be no larger than necessary to achieve
that purpose, and should not apply to land within the Green Belt. The Council should
therefore ensure that any Green Gap designation is necessary, proportionate and
supported by robust and up-to-date evidence.
A parcel-based assessment should form part of the site-selection and Sustainability
Appraisal process, particularly on settlement edges. Land should not remain subject to a
restrictive designation simply because it forms part of a wider historic Green Gap where
development of the particular parcel would not materially undermine settlement identity,
result in unacceptable coalescence or compromise the effective physical separation
between settlements.
The review should therefore actively identify opportunities where residential development
could be accommodated while retaining the essential function of the Green Gap.
Carefully planned development, supported where necessary by appropriate landscape
buffers, green infrastructure, open space and sensitive settlement-edge design, may allow
an effective physical and/or visual gap to be maintained while also making an important
contribution towards meeting identified housing needs.
Where the evidence demonstrates that land does not make an essential contribution to
maintaining the separate identity and physical separation of settlements, or that
development could take place without materially undermining the overall function of the
gap, the designation should not operate as an automatic barrier to the allocation of that
land for residential development. The emerging Local Plan should therefore review existing
boundaries critically and ensure that any retained Green Gap is no more extensive than
is demonstrably necessary to perform its identified function, consistent with Policy S2 of
the NPPF 2026.

Comment

Representation ID: 5419

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Lostwood Estate LTD

Agent: SATPLAN Ltd

Land North of Bradeley Hall Farm
Lostwood Estates Ltd has a specific land interest north of Bradeley Hall Farm comprising
approximately 50.4 acres of predominantly grassland. The whole site is currently
designated as Green Gap and forms part of the intervening land between the Crewe
suburbs of Sydney, Maw Green and Coppenhall to the west and Haslington to the east.
The context of the site is evolving. Substantial residential proposals are being advanced
on adjoining land to the immediate west at Maw Green and to the south of the site. These
changes reinforce the need for the Council to assess the function of the Green Gap at
parcel level and against the future, rather than historic, pattern of development. The
continued inclusion of the whole site within a Green Gap should therefore not be assumed
without testing whether all of the land remains necessary to maintain settlement identity
and physical separation.
The site also has substantial frontage to the Haslington-Winterley A534 Bypass, with an
established agricultural access. In addition, a North East Crewe Bypass connection to the
A534 has been considered over a significant period and could potentially utilise part of
the site together with adjoining land to the west. This creates an opportunity for the Local
Plan to consider housing growth and strategic transport infrastructure in a coordinated
manner, including whether development could help facilitate or safeguard an appropriate
future infrastructure corridor.
For these reasons, the land north of Bradeley Hall Farm should be specifically assessed
through the Green Gap review, site-selection process and Sustainability Appraisal. The
assessment should consider whether all of the existing designation is necessary, whether
part of the site could be released for a logical and sustainable extension to Crewe, and
whether an appropriately designed scheme could retain an effective gap towards
Haslington while contributing to housing delivery and longer-term infrastructure objectives.

Comment

Representation ID: 5420

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Lostwood Estate LTD

Agent: SATPLAN Ltd

Development in Settlements
Policy should support appropriate development within settlements and at sustainable
settlement edges where it can be integrated with the existing built form and supported by
necessary infrastructure. Settlement boundaries which include open countryside should be
reviewed as part of the Local Plan rather than treated as fixed limits based on historic
patterns of development.
Development within and adjacent to settlements can make efficient use of existing services
and infrastructure, support local shops and facilities and provide opportunities for walking,
cycling and public transport. The scale and form of development should respond to local
character and site circumstances while making effective use of land.
The Local Plan should provide sufficient flexibility to accommodate windfall, infill,
redevelopment and planned settlement-edge growth where proposals are sustainable and
do not give rise to unacceptable environmental or infrastructure impacts. This should also
apply to Open Countryside locations where sites are demonstrably sustainable and well
related to existing settlements.