Local plan scoping consultation

This consultation document extends to about 17,000 words which, if printed at 11pt, would cover around 48 pages. It also references or provides links to over 70 supporting and relevant documents.
I am not a spatial planning expert. I worked in environmental planning, design, and management for over four decades and have extensive experience in analysing complex data, reporting, and community engagement. It took me almost five days to think about, and comment on, the issues set out in this document. The idea that this document will reach and engage people with busy lives – teachers, shop workers, bus drivers, hairdressers etc – is laughable.
The Local Plan is probably the single most important document for shaping Cheshire East and the lives of its residents. It is vital that the people’s voices are heard and their opinions respected and accommodated. The processes set out in section 6 will not do this.
The approaches set out in this consultation document are traditional business-as-usual actions, lacking any semblance of ambition. With a disintegrating climate and natural environment threatening our communities, we need a better plan than the one envisaged in this consultation.

It is good to see acknowledgement of recreational facilities as key determinant of public and personal health.
The new Local Plan must include protection of Assets of Community Value (ACV), especially those comprising areas of land in the vicinity of disadvantaged communities. There should be a presumption of no development on these areas.
The new Local Plan should include a strong commitment to working with local community groups to bring ACVs into beneficial use.

In the context of a deepening climate crisis, town centres need to play a central role in adaptation. The emphasis should be on getting genuinely low-carbon residential accommodation into the centres and making our towns into more liveable spaces. This means more well-designed tree planting and vegetation, carefully designed sustainable drainage systems with built-in water storage, homes that include workspace, active travel routes, many more useable outdoor spaces such as pocket parks, and effective vehicle management. Coupled with better public transport, these improvements will reduce the need to travel and provide better places to live, work, and relax.