I object to the draft plan for Warrington because:

1. The housing demand figures in the plan have not been calculated on a reliable basis. The plan assumes a requirement for a substantially higher number of new dwellings than is implied by the latest population and household projections. Household projections are subject to wide confidence intervals and have to be treated very carefully when making planning decisions. The draft local plan should adopt more cautious housing allocations, based on ONS projections that assume lower levels of migration.
2. Existing capacity should be recalculated in order to reflect recent changes in anticipated housing land supply. The decline of town centre retailing will mean a significant supply of future development land will come on stream. There will also be greater scope for re-using retail space and converting it to housing. The council should re-consider its land supply figures based on these changes. Until this is undertaken, the draft plan cannot be considered to be sound.
3. The draft plan should not proceed until there has been a more comprehensive assessment of the capacity of existing infrastructure and its ability to accommodate future housing development. This in turn should inform comprehensive proposals for future infrastructure provision and the funding implications. Until this has been completed, the draft local plan should not be considered sound.