Local plan scoping consultation

I support the preparation of an up-to-date Local Plan and recognise the need for Cheshire East to accommodate future housing and economic growth. However, I believe the scope of the new Local Plan should explicitly address the potential cumulative consequences of Green Belt release around smaller, distinctive settlements such as Prestbury and Butley Town.

The introduction of the national "Grey Belt" concept makes this particularly important. The Council's proposed borough-wide Green Belt assessment should not consider parcels of land in isolation or simply determine whether an individual parcel makes a limited contribution to particular Green Belt purposes. It should also assess what the cumulative effect of releasing a number of adjoining or nearby parcels would be on settlement form, landscape character and the separation between existing communities.

This is particularly relevant around Prestbury and Butley Town. The Green Belt here performs an important role in maintaining the rural setting and individual character of settlements, preventing incremental ribbon development and avoiding the gradual urbanisation of the countryside between existing communities.

Previous Cheshire East Green Belt evidence should form part of the baseline for the new assessment. Where land has previously been found to make a significant contribution to Green Belt purposes, any materially different conclusion under the new assessment should be clearly explained and supported by evidence.

I therefore suggest that the scope and evidence base of the new Local Plan should:

• assess the cumulative effect of potential Green Belt releases rather than assessing sites solely as individual parcels;

• clearly publish the methodology and evidence used to identify Grey Belt and explain the reasoning for individual parcel classifications;

• take previous Green Belt assessments into account and explain where conclusions have changed;

• give appropriate weight to maintaining meaningful physical and visual separation between existing settlements;

• assess the effect of development on the character and setting of smaller settlements and conservation areas, including Prestbury and Butley Town;

• consider landscape character, the River Bollin valley, ecology, drainage and flood risk at the strategic site-selection stage;

• undertake realistic assessments of highway capacity and safety, particularly where development would be dependent upon narrow rural lanes which may be incapable of accommodating significant additional traffic without substantial alteration to their character;

• establish infrastructure capacity, including highways, schools, healthcare, drainage and sewerage, before allocating substantial additional development; and

• demonstrate that reasonable opportunities for brownfield development, regeneration, increased densities and sustainable locations outside the Green Belt have been properly considered before high-performing Green Belt land is released.

I would also encourage the Council to consider whether the settlement hierarchy alone provides sufficient protection against disproportionate development around smaller settlements. Prestbury is currently identified as a Local Service Centre, but that classification should not in itself imply that significant peripheral expansion is appropriate. The environmental capacity, infrastructure and distinctive character of individual settlements should also inform the amount and location of development.

The Local Plan needs to accommodate growth, but it should do so strategically rather than through the incremental release of individual Green Belt parcels which, considered collectively, could fundamentally change the character of existing settlements.

These principles should be incorporated into the scope of the Local Plan and the evidence used to determine the future spatial distribution of development.