Pickmere Neighbourhood Plan
Inspiring Impactful Change
Pickmere Parish Council is proceeding with the preparation of a Neighbourhood Plan for the parish (see below to find out what a Neighbourhood Plan is). Cheshire East Council has formally confirmed the designation of the Pickmere Neighbourhood Area – that is the area that will be the subject of the Plan. The designation document can be found here.
Following an initial survey of residents of the parish, the survey details were analysed and summaries presented at two launches in March 2022 with feedback noted. The graphs of the results can be seen here.
A report ‘Protecting and Enhancing Pickmere’s Natural Environment’ (click here to view) has been prepared by ecological consultants, and an initial draft of possible policies has been prepared by a Neighbourhood Planning consultant.
Following the Parish Council election in May 2023, a new Working Group was set up to take this work forward. Details of the Working Group and its activities will be available soon on this site.
About a Neighbourhood Plan
What is a Neighbourhood Plan?
In very simple terms, a neighbourhood plan is:
A document that sets out planning policies for the neighbourhood area. Planning policies are used to facilitate the planning application approval process.
Written by the local community, the people who know and love the area, rather than the local planning authority
A powerful tool to ensure the community gets the right types of development, in the right place
A Neighbourhood Plan, once completed and accepted by the Local Authority (Cheshire East), becomes a reference for anyone considering planning applications within the area, and any restrictions or preferences contained in it must be taken into account by CE Planning Officers.
Why do we need a Neighbourhood Plan?
All Local Authorities (in our case Cheshire East) have a Local Plan, detailing their intentions for development in their area, which are influenced by quotas and other requirements passed down by Central Government. These mainly concern the building of new homes and the development of new business areas and infrastructure, all designed to improve the local economy and meet central government requirements.
In the Cheshire East local plan, Pickmere is categorised as a Small Settlement & Rural Area. Further to this, within Policy PG10 ‘Infill Villages’, Pickmere is identified as an Infill Village. This means that limited infilling will be supported within the village infill boundaries. Limited infilling is defined as the development of a relatively small gap between existing buildings. Limited infilling will only be permitted where it:
i. is in keeping with the scale, character and appearance of its surroundings and the local area;
ii. does not give rise to unacceptable impacts;
iii. does not involve the loss of undeveloped land that makes a positive contribution to the character of the area.
What are the benefits of having a Neighbourhood Plan?
Neighbourhood planning provides the opportunity for communities to set out a positive vision for how they want their community / Neighbourhood Plan area to develop over a period
A Neighbourhood Plan can protect or propose the creation of open spaces (green spaces, nature reserves / wildlife corridors, play areas, parks and gardens, and important historic assets)
Neighbourhood planning enables communities to play a much stronger role in shaping the areas in which they live and work and in supporting new development proposals
It can include policies to influence new building design, or alterations to existing buildings
It enables to manage change effectively and ensure they benefit our community.
What is the Working Group doing to create the Neighbourhood Plan?
While at this time it is clear from the Local Plan that no areas within Pickmere have been identified for residential or business development, the potential nonetheless exists for privately owned land in the village to be sold to developers. If, in that situation, Cheshire East were inclined to make exceptions to Planning Regulations in order to fulfil quotas imposed on them by central government, then Pickmere Parish Council would need to be prepared to make strenuous and informed objections. One of our main lines of defence would be the impact on our environment. For this reason we need to know as much as possible about our environment and any possible improvements that could be made to it. The environmental survey commissioned by the previous Steering Group is the basis for extensive work being undertaken by the current Working Group to establish all possible reasons to protect various areas of the parish. When this work is completed it will be used to create Planning Policies that will be referenced when making decisions about Planning Applications.
In addition to the above, we also need to ensure that the priorities of our residents are considered. The Working Group will be seeking input from all stakeholders e.g. businesses, farms, local community groups and residents, to ensure we have a complete view of what is important to everyone. Since the Neighbourhood Plan will ultimately need a Referendum in the village before submission to Cheshire East, there will several opportunities for the community to see what has been done and what is planned and to have their say in the plans.