Have your say on Local Plan for Chesterfield
A six-week public consultation is to be held to get the views of residents and businesses about Chesterfield Borough Council’s draft Local Plan.
The plan sets out the proposed future housing, industrial, commercial and leisure land use in Chesterfield until 2033. Residents and businesses can give their views on it between Monday 14 January and Friday 22 February.
Once the consultation is completed the plan will then be considered by an independent Government planning inspector at a public planning inquiry, which it is expected will take place later this year. The inspector will consider any comments made as part of the consultation as well as take representations at the hearing.
Two drop-in information sessions are being held so residents and businesses can find out more about what the plan could mean to them. They will be held on:
- Tuesday 5 February at Chesterfield Market Hall, Market Place, between 10am and 7pm
- Wednesday 6 February at the Speedwell Rooms, Inkersall Road, Staveley, between 1pm and 6pm
The draft Local Plan can be seen by visiting www.chesterfield.gov.uk/localplan, which will also have details of how to respond and make any comments.
Paper copies of the plan, along with consultation documents, will be available at Chesterfield, Brimington, Newbold, Old Whittington and Staveley libraries, as well as Chesterfield Town Hall in Rose Hill East and the Chesterfield Borough Council Customer Service Centre in New Square.
Councillor Terry Gilby, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for economic growth, said: “This stage of the Local Plan builds on the previous public consultations and is a more formal process which requires us to ask for the public’s views on the soundness of the plan and whether it meets the legal duties the Government sets out.
“The Local Plan is important to local residents and businesses because it is the starting point for assessing the merits of individual planning applications.”
“I would encourage everyone to give us their views and make sure they do it within the six weeks as we are not allowed to accept any late representations.”
Between now and 2033 the plan proposes:
- Setting aside enough land for around 5,250 new homes, with a requirement to build at least 4,374 of those. This is a lower figure than in previous versions of the Local Plan. Most of the sites identified were included in the 2017 draft Local Plan but have been updated following comments made during that consultation process.
- Continuing to use the existing Community Infrastructure Levy and ‘Section 106’ planning agreements to provide community facilities, such as schools and GP services, in places where development takes place
- That major housing developments have up to 20 per cent affordable housing included within them
- Up to 25 per cent of homes on major developments meet the higher ‘accessible and adaptable’ standard in the building regulations, which means they can be altered to suit people with mobility issues
- All new homes and commercial developments are required to include electric vehicle charging points
- Continued support for the restoration of Chesterfield Canal
- Continued protection of the Green Belt, and a group of new ‘green wedges’ and ‘strategic gaps’
- Developing 44 hectares (108 acres) of employment land
- Providing 7,736 square metres of new retail space
Most of the proposals within the draft Local Plan build upon the existing document but have been updated to reflect new planning guidance and legislation, as well as the latest statistical information on a range of topics including population size, housing need and requirements for open spaces.
