Local plan scoping consultation

Comment

Representation ID: 4998

Received: 27/08/2026

Respondent: Jennifer Banks

We would ask that the new Local Plan retain and strengthen policies that protect defined settlement boundaries and open countryside, consistent with the approach taken in the current Cheshire East Local Plan Strategy (Policy PG6) and in adopted Neighbourhood Plans such as the Bunbury Neighbourhood Plan (Policies H1, H2 and ENV4). Villages such as Bunbury rely on a clear, defensible edge to the settlement to maintain their character, and on the protection of the open countryside gaps between them. We would ask that this principle be carried forward as a core part of the new plan's spatial strategy, rather than weakened in the pursuit of housing numbers.

Comment

Representation ID: 4999

Received: 27/08/2026

Respondent: Jennifer Banks

We would ask that the evidence base underpinning the new plan include a more granular assessment of surface water flood risk than generic catchment-level modelling, particularly for smaller, enclosed valleys and depressions that may not show up clearly at a strategic scale but which pose a real flood risk to individual properties. As a specific example, land to the west of the A49, Whitchurch Road, Bunbury (adjoining Holly Mount and Pheasant Hollow) slopes into a small, enclosed valley with no natural outflow; any assessment of this land's suitability for development should take this into account.

Comment

Representation ID: 5000

Received: 27/08/2026

Respondent: Jennifer Banks

We would ask that the new plan's approach to biodiversity net gain and habitat protection give due weight to non-designated but ecologically valuable habitats such as species-rich wildflower hay meadows and mature hedgerow networks, particularly where these adjoin or lie within otherwise protected open countryside. Land west of the A49, Whitchurch Road, Bunbury includes an actively managed wildflower hay meadow bounded by mature hedgerows, which we would ask the council to note as part of the evidence base for this area.

Comment

Representation ID: 5001

Received: 27/08/2026

Respondent: Jennifer Banks

We would ask that the plan's approach to landscape character assessment specifically consider open views toward heritage assets, not only the setting of the assets themselves. Land west of the A49, Whitchurch Road, Bunbury forms part of an open, uninterrupted view toward Peckforton Castle (a Grade I listed building) as seen from neighbouring properties. We would ask that this kind of long-distance view be recognised as a landscape and heritage sensitivity in the evidence base for this part of Bunbury.

Comment

Representation ID: 5002

Received: 27/08/2026

Respondent: Jennifer Banks

We understand that several linked sites in this part of Bunbury (land west of the A49/Whitchurch Road, land off College Lane/Vicarage Lane, land east of Wyche Road, and land off Saddlers Wells) have been put forward by the same landowner. We would ask that, when these or similar sites are assessed for potential allocation, the council consider their cumulative impact on the open countryside gap and settlement character, rather than assessing each site in isolation.

Comment

Representation ID: 5003

Received: 27/08/2026

Respondent: Jennifer Banks

We support a Local Plan process that is evidence-led and that continues to protect open countryside, biodiversity, flood-vulnerable land and valued views as part of its core strategy. We would ask that the specific constraints identified above be recorded against land west of the A49, Whitchurch Road, Bunbury as part of the council's evidence base, for consideration if this or similar sites are brought forward for allocation at a later stage of plan-making.