CPRE Cheshire response to CEC Local Plan scoping consultation

We have responded to the scoping stage consultation for the Cheshire East Council (CEC) new Local Plan. Consultation is open to members of the public and to interested organisations, and closes on 1 September 2026. We are calling on everyone in the area to get involved.

The Plan is being prepared under central government’s new fast track process. The purpose of the scoping stage is described by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) as to invite ‘feedback from stakeholders on how to engage with them and what the plan should contain’.

Our response addresses both these points, and includes as an appendix our response to the earlier consultation on issues and options. The information included can be used to help you make your own response (but please comment in your own words rather than cutting and pasting – it’s likely to be more effective).

Key points from our response

Key points from the CPRE Cheshire response include:

• Highlighting MHCLG requirements for engaging with stakeholders that CEC is not currently meeting.
• Restating the point that the current central government mandatory housing targets have never been justified by evidence.
• Accepting that councils have no option but to comply with these housing targets, and recommending actions CEC should undertake to maximise the potential for urban regeneration and minimise harm to agriculture and the countryside.
• Commenting on the Call for Sites process and requesting professional analysis of proposed development sites followed by consultation.
• Asking that land safeguarded for development by the current Local Plan be re-assessed, with sites now widely recognised as unsustainable removed – most notably, Danes Moss near Macclesfield.
• Summarising the Green Belt status of the most substantial areas of land put forward by developers/landowners as suitable for development.
• Highlighting the importance of retaining strong Green Belt between Stockport and Cheshire East towns and villages.
• Requesting explanations for any proposals to remove Green Belt designation from locations.
• Pointing out that environmental and social growth should be given equal status to economic growth.
• Asking for a commitment to improve access to rail stations.

More information

CPRE Cheshire response to CEC Local Plan scoping consultation August 2026

Cheshire East Council Local Plan website and link to consultation pages

Danes Moss Trust notes on responding to the CEC Local Plan – more useful info and good ideas.