Why have a Neighbourhood Plan?

Cheshire East Council has the overall responsibility for planning matters, and the Parish Council has the right to be consulted about individual planning applications in its area.  However, any decision as to the overall number of new houses is the responsibility of CEC.

Until very recently, CEC have not had a valid Local Plan, and as a result developers have had few constraints on the location and size of new building developments.

The production of a Neighbourhood Plan for our parish will not in itself be able to effect overall number of new houses, but is expected to have an important say on the type and size of any new housing developments that take place in the parish.  Without a plan, we will have no control over these matters, and decisions made by Cheshire East will be imposed on us.

As can be seen from this diagram, the possible scope of a Neighbourhood Development Plan is very wide:

ORPC Possible scope of Neighbourhood Plan