Residents to have their say on latest phase of Cheshire East’s development plan

People will be invited to comment on the latest phase of Cheshire East Council’s development plan.

The draft minerals and waste plan details the authority’s planning policies on minerals and waste matters. 

It is the third part of the suite of planning policy documents that, once all approved, will together form the council’s Local Plan. The other two documents are the local plan strategy (LPS) and sites allocation and development policies document (SADPD).

The minerals and waste plan (MWP) contains a mix of both strategic and non-strategic policies and will cover the period up to 2041. It aims to achieve both sustainable provision of minerals and sustainable management of waste in the borough. 

The new MWP reflects the council’s new corporate plan priorities by recognising the need to minimise the causes and impacts of climate change as one of its stated objectives. The plan’s policies have been developed with this in mind.

A meeting of Cheshire East Council’s environment and communities committee has now decided to put the MWP forward for public consultation. Once finalised and adopted, it will replace previous policies that date from before the creation of Cheshire East in 2009.

Councillor Mick Warren, chair of the environment and communities committee, said: “The draft plan contains policies that will help deliver a steady and adequate supply of the minerals found in Cheshire East over the plan period. These include silica sand and salt – which are nationally significant minerals, due to their relative rarity in the UK.  

“It will also help to fill current gaps in the saved mineral policies inherited from Cheshire County Council, including around the safeguarding of mineral resources and infrastructure and the determining of any proposals for unconventional hydrocarbon extraction – such as ‘fracking’.   

“The draft MWP also contains policies that will help manage all the waste generated within the borough up to 2041 to meet national objectives of less waste being produced and, wherever possible, for waste to be used as a resource.” 

There is currently predicted to be a shortfall of almost seven million tonnes in aggregate sand supply. The council’s own waste needs assessment also found that, while there appears to be sufficient existing capacity to meet recycling and organic waste treatment management requirements to 2030, there is a predicted shortfall in capacity to manage residual waste (black bin) and inert waste to 2030. 

This capacity shortfall will need to be addressed through the MWP and need to cover the full plan period to 2041.

Cllr Warren added: “The public consultation period will provide an opportunity for the minerals and waste industry, as well as other interested organisations and individuals, to contribute to the development of this area of planning policy. This will assist the council in finalising its minerals and waste plan prior to further consultation and its subsequent submission to the secretary of state.” 

The preparation of the draft MWP for public consultation is an early stage in the plan’s development towards final adoption. Nothing has been decided and there will be further rounds of public consultation before the finalised document is submitted to the secretary of state and is examined by a planning inspector.

The draft MWP consultation is expected to take place in autumn 2022.