Local plan scoping consultation

Comment

Representation ID: 5630

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Duchy of Lancaster

Agent: CBRE

The Duchy supports preparation of a new Local Plan, arguing that updated national planning policy, increased housing requirements and associated employment needs necessitate a comprehensive review of Cheshire East’s development strategy. They consider the existing Local Plan to have been prepared under substantially different policy and housing circumstances. The respondent calls for reassessment of land supply, settlement classifications, development boundaries and Green Belt designations, including consideration of Grey Belt policy. They advocate a flexible, evidence-based and ambitious plan that identifies sufficient sustainable and deliverable sites, including potential Green Belt adjustments, to coordinate long-term growth, infrastructure and investment through the plan-led system.

Comment

Representation ID: 5631

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Duchy of Lancaster

Agent: CBRE

The Duchy welcomes the Local Plan timetable, early stakeholder engagement and the Council’s commitment to developing a robust evidence base. They consider continuous engagement important to identifying development opportunities, constraints and infrastructure requirements within the streamlined plan-making timetable. The respondent calls for all realistic development options to be assessed objectively and consistently, including reasonable alternatives relating to Green Belt boundaries. They support evidence gathering on transport, Green Belt and infrastructure and offers to contribute where appropriate. The Duchy considers proportionate, up-to-date evidence essential to identifying sustainable locations capable of meeting housing, employment and infrastructure requirements throughout the plan period.

Comment

Representation ID: 5632

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Duchy of Lancaster

Agent: CBRE

The Duchy supports a comprehensive, objective and evidence-led review of Cheshire East’s Green Belt in light of revised national planning policy. They welcome the Grey Belt concept, arguing that Green Belt land varies in its contribution to Green Belt purposes and should therefore be reassessed against current policy rather than historical assumptions. The respondent considers that existing Green Belt boundaries should be reviewed alongside housing and employment needs and sustainability considerations. Where development needs cannot be met through reasonable alternatives such as optimising densities or locations beyond the Green Belt, they consider that changes to Green Belt boundaries may be justified.

Comment

Representation ID: 5633

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Duchy of Lancaster

Agent: CBRE

The Duchy supports allocating sufficient land to meet Cheshire East’s economic needs, including freight and logistics provision. They argue that employment sites should be located accessibly and provide flexibility to respond to the requirements of a modern economy. The respondent cautions against being overly prescriptive about employment uses or unit sizes, particularly for strategic employment sites, as market requirements may change over the plan period. They also consider that the Council’s Economic Growth Strategy should reflect the increased housing delivery requirement and demonstrate appropriate ambition for job creation across Cheshire East throughout the Local Plan period.

Comment

Representation ID: 5634

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Duchy of Lancaster

Agent: CBRE

A successful spatial strategy must identify opportunities that can deliver comprehensive growth, encompassing housing, employment, environmental improvements, and necessary infrastructure. The strategy should also acknowledge the need for a variety of delivery mechanisms, including urban regeneration, brownfield redevelopment, urban extensions, and sustainable growth adjacent to existing settlements.

The Duchy supports the creation of a Spatial Development Strategy that proactively addresses the Borough’s development requirements while ensuring growth occurs in sustainable, accessible locations. This should include cross-border collaboration with neighbouring authorities. It should balance sustainability, deliverability, infrastructure capacity, environmental factors, and market demand, while remaining sufficiently flexible to adapt to changing circumstances over the plan period.

Comment

Representation ID: 5635

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Duchy of Lancaster

Agent: CBRE

The vision should provide a positive framework for accommodating growth, ensuring that development facilitates broader economic, environmental, and social benefits. The Duchy supports the formulation of a clear, ambitious vision that acknowledges the scale of transformation Cheshire East faces over the new plan period. This vision should recognise that the Borough is operating within a planning context significantly different from that of the current Local Plan. Elevated housing requirements, shifting national policies, evolving economic priorities, climate targets, and mounting infrastructure pressures all necessitate a proactive, growth-focused strategy.

Comment

Representation ID: 5636

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Duchy of Lancaster

Agent: CBRE

The Duchy supports a positive and flexible growth strategy that seeks to meet Cheshire East’s development needs through sustainable and deliverable locations. They consider that the Local Plan should provide a clear spatial strategy for housing, employment and supporting infrastructure, giving certainty to communities, developers and infrastructure providers. The evidence base should identify opportunities as well as constraints and support coordinated economic, social and environmental benefits. The respondent argues that increased housing need, changing national policy and evolving economic and employment priorities require a comprehensive reassessment of the scale and distribution of growth across the Borough.

Comment

Representation ID: 5637

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Duchy of Lancaster

Agent: CBRE

The Duchy welcomes the Council’s Land Availability Assessment and supports a transparent, objective and evidence-led methodology that assesses sites consistently. They consider that assessments should address availability, suitability, achievability, capacity, delivery timescales, sustainability, accessibility, infrastructure, environmental impacts, viability and deliverability. A sufficient range of potential housing and employment sites should be identified to support the emerging spatial strategy and economic objectives. The respondent argues that individual constraints should not be given disproportionate weight and that assessments should also recognise wider opportunities and benefits, including contributions to housing delivery, economic growth, environmental enhancement and infrastructure investment.

Comment

Representation ID: 5638

Received: 01/09/2026

Respondent: Duchy of Lancaster

Agent: CBRE

The Duchy supports an ambitious economic strategy that proactively accommodates business growth and responds to the needs of modern industry. They highlight historic job growth exceeding previous projections and argues that conservative employment land assumptions could constrain future economic development. The respondent therefore advocates allocating a greater quantity of high-quality, well-connected employment land to support Cheshire East’s long-term prosperity. As a major landowner, the Duchy expresses their commitment to bringing forward sustainable and deliverable development opportunities. They call for an evidence-based assessment of promoted employment sites, recognising their potential to support economic growth alongside wider social, environmental and infrastructure benefits.