Members of Cheshire East Council are to consider the need for a longer-term planning strategy for the borough that extends into the 2040s.
It says the current Local Plan needs to respond to the arrival of HS2 at Crewe and the investment opportunities it should bring.
By law, all councils have to review their Local Plans within five years of their adoption.
They must decide whether the policies in the Plan need to be updated.
The Local Plan sets planning policies and allocates sites for development and is used to inform decisions on planning applications.
For Cheshire East’s local plan strategy, a decision whether to update the plan must be made by July 27.
A meeting of the council’s environment and communities committee tomorrow (July 1) will consider a report that recommends giving the go-ahead to update the Local Plan.
The report says aspects of the plan have now been overtaken by changes in national planning policy and other changes to local policies are needed, including a response to impact of HS2.
If an update is given the go-ahead, the existing Local Plan will continue to be the starting point for making planning application decisions while the update is prepared and approved.
The council’s current Local Plan was adopted in July 2017 following more than three years of public comments and submissions.
Cllr Mick Warren, chair of Cheshire East Council’s environment and communities committee, said: “If the decision is made, the preparation of a new Local Plan would be a major undertaking involving extensive public consultation.
“It would also need to take account of the government’s proposed planning reforms expected to come into effect in 2024.
“While any new Local Plan was in preparation, the policies of the existing, adopted local plan strategy would remain the starting point for deciding planning applications.”
For information on the Local Plan and links to key documents, visit cheshireeast.gov.uk/localplan
Not much point when the cabinet in Westminster override it anyway
In view of the report on Planning Application delays can CEC advise its Council Tax Payers if the HS2 strategy update is being done by existing staff or expensive consultants?