A damning report by a Planning Inspector has told Cheshire East Council its long-awaited Local Plan is still not good enough to be adopted.
The blow, described as “regrettable” by council chiefs, was delivered by an inspector giving his “interim views” on the Plan’s soundness and legal compliance.
The inspector’s report highlights concerns over whether the draft Local Plan, which has taken more than five years to put together, provides for sufficient homes to meet future need by 2030.
And it could mean another six-month delay before it can be formerly adopted and used to defend against unwanted developer’s applications.
Cheshire East Council admits it has been forced to pause to allow further work to address the inspector’s concerns, which is likely to be completed within six months.
The Planning Inspector said in his interim report: “The proposed level of future housing provision seems inadequate to ensure the success of overall economic, employment and housing strategy.”
It has sparked more fierce criticism against the authority.
Cllr Brian Silvester, of Willaston and Rope ward, said: “CEC has had more than five years to get the Local Plan right and they have totally failed, just as they have failed to establish a five-year housing supply that isn’t overturned at appeal.
“The consequence of this is that developers have had free rein to do virtually what they want and residents have to sit and watch while their precious green gaps and green belt is destroyed and concreted over.
“This withering criticism from the Inspector will result in a further delay of a least several months while the Local Plan is revised to bring it in line with what is acceptable.
“The Council has totally let down the people of Cheshire East.”
Cllr David Brown, Deputy Leader of Cheshire East Council and Cabinet member in charge of the Local Plan, said: “It is regrettable that there will now be a delay in getting this finalised.
“However, we must justify our decisions with work on our objectively-assessed need and economic evidence.
“Our aim is to deliver the best housing, jobs and infrastructure for the people of Cheshire East and our future generations. Getting the Local Plan right is an absolute priority and we undertake to do this over the next six months.”
Cllr Michael Jones, Leader of Cheshire East Council, said: “This is a regrettable situation but my focus will now be on protecting the open countryside and our greenbelt from unplanned development.”
Adrian Fisher, head of planning at Cheshire East Council, said: “We must now do further work to ensure our housing requirements match up with the economic requirement.
“We need to integrate our overall assessment of housing needs with our economic strategy.”
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