Local Plan Issues and Options (Regulation 18)

Comment

Representation ID: 14976

Received: 29/08/2025

Respondent: Ainscough Group

Agent: Turley

I&O_15535
Yes. As set out in our response to Question SS 11, ASL considers that Option B is the most appropriate of the three options presented, proposing growth in all existing urban centres and Key Service Centres reflecting their role within the settlement hierarchy and range of services and facilities on offer. These are the most sustainable settlements in the Borough and already benefit from a range of services and facilities to support residential populations. Maintaining the distribution of growth across the Borough would help to continue the positive approach to new development within these settlements which has been delivered by the adopted Local Plan. This option would also enable growth to be accommodated where it is shown to be needed, regardless of existing policy or Green Belt constraints – for example the emerging evidence base is likely to identify housing needs in Chester (and other Green Belt constrained settlements), which wouldn’t be met by the allocation of land for housing in Winsford or other settlements.

Comment

Representation ID: 14977

Received: 29/08/2025

Respondent: Ainscough Group

Agent: Turley

I&O_15536
Please refer to response to Question SS 11.

Comment

Representation ID: 14978

Received: 29/08/2025

Respondent: Ainscough Group

Agent: Turley

I&O_15537
No. Please refer to response to Question SS 11.

Comment

Representation ID: 14979

Received: 29/08/2025

Respondent: Ainscough Group

Agent: Turley

I&O_15538
Please refer to response to Question SS 11.

Comment

Representation ID: 14980

Received: 29/08/2025

Respondent: Ainscough Group

Agent: Turley

I&O_15539
The Council’s proposed ‘showstopper’ constraints are not considered to be appropriate or reasonable. ASL considers that many of these matters are not fundamentally prohibitive to development and should not therefore be used as a means of restricting sites from consideration in the Local Plan process. It is entirely appropriate and feasible for the Council to reconsider existing local policy designations, such as Local Green Spaces, Key Settlement Gaps, Strategic Open Space and Areas of Special County Value, subject to appropriate assessments and evidence being produced, to enable land to be proposed for development. In respect of Key Settlement Gaps, ASL recommends that the Council keeps these areas under review as it considers its housing need and the sustainability of locations suitable for development. It may be that the provision of good quality sustainably located housing is most appropriate in these locations. ASL does not consider that the separation of these settlements should necessarily override the provision of housing where it is needed and where it can be sustainably located. Furthermore, matters such as designated heritage assets, designated habitat sites, SSSIs, irreplaceable habitats and flood risk are not explicitly prohibitive to new development occurring and can be appropriately mitigated, managed or accommodated into new development as appropriate. ASL is keen that the Council produces a Local Plan which can deliver against its housing requirement. To do this it is important that a strategy is put in place which provides a sufficient range of allocated sites to provide enough outlets to enable delivery to be maintained at the required levels throughout the Local Plan period.

Comment

Representation ID: 14981

Received: 29/08/2025

Respondent: Ainscough Group

Agent: Turley

I&O_15540
As per the response to Question IN1, the Council should ensure that all of the proposed policy requirements are fully justified and evidenced as the proposed evidence is likely to be necessary alongside other documents to justify the policy requirements in the emerging Local Plan. Key evidence base documents should include a detailed assessment of land availability within the existing urban area, alongside Housing Needs Assessment, Green Belt Study, Infrastructure Delivery Plan and Strategic Viability Assessment. Site specific evidence bases should consider the potential capacity of the site, its accessibility to local services by sustainable travel modes and the contribution the site would make to the formation of suitable/defensible Green Belt (where relevant) and settlement boundaries. It should also consider the deliverability of the site, prioritising those sites which are not subject to any constraints and can therefore deliver residential development in the short term to address the existing shortfall.

Comment

Representation ID: 14982

Received: 29/08/2025

Respondent: Ainscough Group

Agent: Turley

I&O_15541
To accommodate the scale of new development required to meet the identified housing and employment needs in CWAC, and in the city of Chester specifically (as the largest settlement), it is likely that more than one of the identified Potential Growth Areas around Chester will be required to be allocated within the emerging Local Plan. The adopted housing requirement for CWAC is 22,000 net additional dwellings over the plan period of 2010-203013. The spatial strategy apportions a requirement for at least 5,200 net additional dwellings over the plan period (2010-2030) to Chester14. This represents 24% of the Borough housing requirement. The CWAC Annual Monitoring Report 202415 confirms that 4,944 dwellings were delivered in Chester between 2010 and 2024, representing 95% of the identified housing requirement for the settlement – this means that 256 dwellings remain to be delivered by 2030. The Reg 18 Consultation Draft Plan sets out three Spatial Strategy Options, all of which propose housing growth within Chester. As set out in our response to Question SS 11, ASL consider that Options A and C are not sustainable and therefore Option B is the most appropriate spatial strategy. If Spatial Strategy Option B is adopted, and the adopted Local Plan spatial strategy is maintained and, therefore, that the same proportion (24%) is applied to the new local housing need figure derived using the updated standard method over an assumed 15-year plan period (i.e. 28,920 dwellings), this would indicate a ‘requirement’ for 6,941 dwellings in Chester. If a 20-year plan period is progressed (as with the current Local Plan), the Borough’s housing need figure would increase to 38,560 dwellings, which would indicate a ‘requirement’ for 9,252 dwellings in Chester. ASL supports the identification of Potential Growth Area CH01, which is identified as a location for mixed housing and community uses in Spatial Strategy Option B. The majority of Potential Growth Area CH01 comprises ASL’s land interests at Liverpool Road, Upton-by-Chester. As set out in detail in ASL’s site-specific representations, land at Liverpool Road is considered to be a highly sustainable location for growth, which currently makes limited contribution to the purposes of including land within the Green Belt, as has been previously accepted by the Council in the existing Green Belt Assessment (2013). The site meets the definition of grey belt land, making little contribution to the Green Belt and being surrounded by existing built form. The site is sustainably located and is not subject to any other constraints (aside from the Green Belt policy designation) which would restrict development. The site is suitable, available and achievable and the Councils’ own Land Availability Assessment demonstrates that it would be capable of delivering c.360 dwellings which would make a significant contribution to meeting housing needs in Chester – ASL consider that the site could accommodate this quantum of development as a minimum and likely to be greater.

Comment

Representation ID: 14983

Received: 29/08/2025

Respondent: Ainscough Group

Agent: Turley

I&O_15542
As set out earlier in these representations, it is essential that the Council prepares evidence to identify the existing levels of infrastructure in CWAC and to consider the potential additional infrastructure requirements needed to support the level of growth proposed to meet local housing and employment needs.

Comment

Representation ID: 14984

Received: 29/08/2025

Respondent: Ainscough Group

Agent: Turley

I&O_15543
To accommodate the scale of new development required to meet the identified housing and employment needs in CWAC, it is likely that more than one of the identified Potential Growth Areas around Farndon will be required to be allocated within the emerging Local Plan. The adopted housing requirement for CWAC is 22,000 net additional dwellings over the plan period of 2010-203016. The spatial strategy apportions a requirement for at least 200 net additional dwellings over the plan period (2010-2030) to Farndon17. This represents 0.9% of the Borough housing requirement. The CWAC Annual Monitoring Report 202418 confirms that 253 dwellings were delivered in Farndon between 2010 and 2024, representing 126.5% of the identified housing requirement for the settlement. The Reg 18 Consultation Draft Plan sets out three Spatial Strategy Options, all of which propose housing growth within Farndon. As set out in our response to Question SS 11, ASL consider that Options A and C are not sustainable and therefore Option B is the most appropriate spatial strategy. Considering the scale of new development required to meet the identified housing needs in CWAC, it is likely that Farndon will need to accommodate growth and is a sustainable location for such growth. On this basis, site(s) within Farndon should be allocated within the emerging Local Plan to provide opportunities to accommodate the need for new residential development. ASL supports the identification of Potential Growth Area FAR02, which is identified as a location for housing uses in all three Spatial Strategy Options. FAR02 almost wholly aligns with the boundaries of ASL’s land interests relating to land at Sibbersfield Lane, Farndon. Therefore ASL is fully supportive of this Potential Growth Area – it would represent a sustainable and logical extension of the settlement, benefiting from strong connectivity to the highway and public right of way networks, in close proximity to existing services. As set out in detail in ASL’s separate site-specific representations, land at Sibbersfield Road, Farndon is a highly sustainable location for growth, which would make a logical extension of the settlement. The site is deliverable and available now, with pre-application engagement underway and ASL intending to submit an application for outline planning permission by the end of 2025, such that the site will contribute to meeting housing needs in the short-term.

Comment

Representation ID: 14985

Received: 29/08/2025

Respondent: Ainscough Group

Agent: Turley

I&O_15544
The Places Background Paper 2024 identifies the availability of services and facilities in Farndon, which currently includes a village hall, library, Post Office, GP practice, pharmacy, primary school, churches, local shops, pubs and restaurants. The viability of existing service and infrastructure provision in the settlement would be enhanced by accommodating new housing growth, which could be delivered alongside infrastructure enhancements as identified by the Infrastructure Delivery Strategy to be prepared as part of the evidence base.