We have updated our Plan to deliver the homes, jobs, transport infrastructure and community facilities the borough needs.

We have now published our updated Proposed Submission Version Local Plan which you can read in the Cabinet papers for the meeting on Monday 13 September.

The key changes

Our updated Proposed Submission Version Local Plan proposes a reduction in the number of houses required and a reduced plan period. This, in turn, will mean a reduced need for Green Belt allocation.

The key changes we are proposing are:

• A reduction in new housing from 945 a year over 20 years, to 816 a year over a reduced plan period of 18 years (2021-2038 inclusive).
• Proposals for 580 hectares to be removed from the Green Belt for development. This equates to 5% of the total amount of Green Belt land in the borough and is significantly lower than the 1,210 hectares proposed in the previous Plan, which equated to 11% of the total amount of Green Belt.
• The removal of the South West Urban Extension (1,600 homes), Phipps Lane in Burtonwood Village (160 homes), and Massey Brook Lane in Lymm (66 homes) from the Plan.
• Moving away from the Garden Suburb concept in South Warrington (4,200 new homes), and instead including new proposals for a South East Warrington Urban Extension, with a reduced allocation of 2,400 new homes during the plan period.
• The removal of Port Warrington (75ha employment land) and the Business Hub (25ha employment land) from the plan.
• The inclusion of the Fiddlers Ferry site in the Plan, with the closure of the power station in March 2020 giving us the opportunity to bring the site into the allocation this time.

Key evidence based documents

The key evidence base documents which have informed the updated Proposed Submission Version Local Plan form Background Papers to the Cabinet and Full Council reports and can be found below: