Local plan scoping consultation

Comment

Representation ID: 1589

Received: 14/08/2026

Respondent: Mr Len Harvey

Brownfield-first is supported, but brownfield does not mean environmentally valueless. Existing Policy SE2 protects previously developed land where biodiversity or landscape value has become high. That safeguard should be retained. Brownfield sites with ecological potential should be surveyed before allocation, with the mitigation hierarchy applied from the outset. Regeneration should focus on genuinely suitable previously developed land rather than creating a presumption that every brownfield site is appropriate for redevelopment.

Comment

Representation ID: 1591

Received: 14/08/2026

Respondent: Mr Len Harvey

The plan should not allocate land for data centres, gigafactories, freight or logistics solely on economic-demand evidence. These uses can create major requirements for land, electricity, water, transport and supporting infrastructure. Site selection should therefore include explicit tests for whole-life carbon, renewable-energy availability, water-resource impacts, biodiversity, landscape, freight movements and public-transport accessibility. Economic benefit should be assessed alongside environmental and infrastructure costs before strategic locations are identified.

Comment

Representation ID: 1592

Received: 14/08/2026

Respondent: Mr Len Harvey

3.18 The Local Plan should not treat conformity with the future Spatial Development Strategy as simply a growth and infrastructure exercise. The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 requires a Spatial Development Strategy to take account of Local Nature Recovery Strategies. Cheshire East should therefore ensure that joint evidence and emerging SDS work integrate nature recovery, climate resilience, ecological networks and sustainable transport from the outset, and should resist any later SDS approach that would weaken locally justified environmental protections.

Comment

Representation ID: 1594

Received: 14/08/2026

Respondent: Mr Len Harvey

3.20 Before existing SPDs cease to apply, the Council should publish a clause-by-clause audit identifying what will happen to their substantive requirements. This is particularly important for the Ecology and Biodiversity Net Gain, SuDS and Environmental Protection SPDs, all adopted in 2024. Their protections should be incorporated into the Local Plan or replacement Supplementary Plans before the existing documents lose weight, with no policy gap or environmental regression during transition.

Comment

Representation ID: 1595

Received: 14/08/2026

Respondent: Mr Len Harvey

Paragraph 3.21 should acknowledge that the revised NPPF and National Decision-Making Policies are not yet final. The Council should not delete or weaken existing local environmental policies based on draft national provisions. Once the final national policies are published, Cheshire East should produce a policy-by-policy comparison showing which current policies are retained, replaced or omitted, and demonstrate that locally important protections for biodiversity, ecological networks, landscape, water, climate and pollution remain equivalent or stronger.

Comment

Representation ID: 1597

Received: 14/08/2026

Respondent: Mr Len Harvey

The document is internally inconsistent about Sustainability Appraisal. Paragraph 3.22 says it has been removed, while paragraph 1.8 describes Sustainability Appraisal as part of the proposed scope and paragraph 5.99 says site selection will be informed by Sustainability Appraisal and SEA. The Council should clarify the assessment framework it will actually use and publish how environmental, social and economic effects, reasonable alternatives and cumulative impacts will be assessed consistently throughout plan preparation.

Comment

Representation ID: 1598

Received: 14/08/2026

Respondent: Mr Len Harvey

4.3 The spatial portrait should reflect Cheshire East's actual landscape diversity rather than reducing it to broad topography. The Council's Landscape Character Assessment identifies 14 landscape character types, each with distinct qualities, and current Policy ENV 3 recognises that all Cheshire East landscapes have ecological, recreational, agricultural, cultural and aesthetic value. This evidence should form part of the baseline so future growth options are assessed against landscape character from the outset.

Comment

Representation ID: 1600

Received: 14/08/2026

Respondent: Mr Len Harvey

The description of Cheshire East as strongly connected is incomplete because it focuses mainly on motorways, national rail links and Manchester Airport. The spatial portrait should also assess connectivity within the borough, including public transport, east-west journeys, rural accessibility, congestion, walking and cycling networks, and dependence on private cars. These factors are essential to identifying genuinely sustainable locations for development and avoiding growth that locks residents into higher transport emissions.

Comment

Representation ID: 1602

Received: 14/08/2026

Respondent: Mr Len Harvey

4.16 Agriculture should not be described only through employment and the proportion of land farmed. With around 70% of Cheshire East in agricultural use, the baseline should also address soil quality, best and most versatile agricultural land, hedgerows, water management, carbon storage, biodiversity and opportunities for nature-positive farming. These functions should inform decisions about development and land-use change alongside the economic contribution of agriculture.

Comment

Representation ID: 1603

Received: 14/08/2026

Respondent: Mr Len Harvey

4.19 Where the spatial portrait identifies relatively isolated rural settlements, it should also assess access to essential services and sustainable transport. The baseline should consider access to schools, healthcare, shops, employment, bus and rail services, walking and cycling routes, and digital connectivity. Without this information, settlement sustainability cannot be properly assessed and new development could reinforce car dependency rather than support resilient, low-carbon rural communities.