In addition to development control work, Cheshire County Council's Environmental Planning Service is responsible for some aspects of Spatial Planning - making plans for the future development and enhancement of Cheshire.
The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 introduced a fundamental reform of the Planning System; including the replacement of the existing land use Development Plan System (consisting of Structure Plans and Local Plans) with a new system of Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Frameworks. Rather than being restricted to the regulation and control of land uses, Spatial Planning has a wider remit to ensure the best use of land by weighing up competing demands. By taking into account factors such as health, education, employment and crime prevention, the new system provides a more inclusive and sustainable approach to planning.
The timetable for the production of the new plans is set out in the Local Development Scheme, which is also part of the new approach to better monitoring and program management in planning.
However, much of the work done by Cheshire County Council includes plans created under the old system, which remain valid until the newer style plans come into force.
At the present time, County Council Planners are involved in the following spatial planning work:
Monitoring - A key element of policy formation and service provision, at regional, county and local levels. There is an increasing emphasis on the importance of monitoring and the County Council is working with the District Councils to set in place more sophisticated systems to monitor trends in housing, retail and employment land provision. Monitoring plays a central role in both ‘Old’ and ‘New’ systems.
The ‘Old’ System
The Structure Plan - A document produced by Cheshire County Council setting out the broad planning strategy for the County. The plan contains policies on the amount and general location of land for new homes, businesses, shops and leisure facilities. It also sets out measures to protect and enhance Cheshire’s environment and to improve the transport network. The Structure Plan provides the context for more detailed policies in local plans produced by district councils. The Structure Plan is very important in setting the framework for development in Cheshire up to 2016. This is the last such Structure Plan in Cheshire and will eventually be replaced by the Regional Spatial Strategy for the North West.