Cheshire West and Chester Council are consulting on the LocaL Plan. The deadline for submitting comments on the Local Plan is 5 p.m. on Sunday 17 March.

Below are notes to help members who wish to make comments. The notes on the background paper by Rob Ward are followed by lists of places in the sections on land availability and employment areas where Neston is mentioned. These will be removed after the deadline.

Places background paper – Neston and Parkgate

https://consult.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/kse/event/37816/section/

This has lots of interesting facts and maps.

One or two points might be improved:

No mention of lack of banks and building societies, or Neston relying on Little Neston Post Office, plus the mobile one in the Market Square on Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings.

The trains are said to go to Bidston twice an hour and Wrexham once an hour: they go in each direction every 45 minutes.

They say no direct bus to Ellesmere Port, but the 272 is direct.

They say it takes 5 minutes by train from Neston to Heswall, but Heswall railway station is a long way from Heswall.

Land availability assessment

https://consult.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/kse/event/37829/section/6061499

Neston is mentioned 14 times

3.3 It contains the city of Chester; main towns of Ellesmere Port, Northwich, and Winsford; market towns such as Neston and Frodsham;

3.5 Key service centres: Cuddington and Sandiway, Farndon, Frodsham, Helsby, Kelsall, Malpas, Neston (including Parkgate), Tarporley, Tarvin, Tattenhall

Established employment areas: Monument Place Employment Park, Farndon; Mere’s Edge, Helsby; Chowley Oak Business Park, nr Tattenhall; Oaklands Office Park, Hooton; Clayhill Business Park, Neston

Table 3.3 Neston office use Plot ratio/ density guidelines 60%

Table 4.9 Neston & Parkgate have 5 greenfield sites and 2 PDL sites, for mixed use, 2.5 ha, capacity 87.

Table 4.11 We have no sites in this category

Table 4.18 Employment and Mixed-use sites. We have 3 greenfield and 5 PDL sites, 4.63 ha.

4.41 Only Neston has a designated employment area (Clayhill Industrial Estate) located within the settlement boundary for the key service centre.

Table 4.24 Site analysis by established employment area We have 5 sites, 3.4 ha.

Table 5.3 Capacity of additional housing and mixed-use sites by spatial area and type. We have one mixed site, 0.18ha, capacity 6.

Table 5.5 Housing – Spatial distribution of total estimated capacity. We have 7 sites with planning permission, 62 units; 7 at stage one, 87 units; 1 at stage one review, 6 units.

Draft employment areas survey

6194978

7.24 There are 20 employment areas located in the rural area – 5 are within the key service centres of Tarvin, Tattenhall, Neston and Tarporley;

7.25 Clayhill Industrial Estate is 26ha located at Neston. The University of Liverpool Leahurst is identified as an employment area in the green belt (8ha), uses are primarily linked to the university use, with some research and redevelopment.

7.29 In the rural area there is a relatively high proportion of vacant land within established employment areas – these include the undeveloped local plan allocations for the rural area at Clayhill Industrial Estate Neston,

7.34 There are 17 rural employment areas; 4 of these are within the key service centres of Tattenhall, Neston, Tarvin and Tarporley,

Table A.1 ELSU areas carried forward for assessment. Includes Clay Hill.

Table B.1 Employment areas included in the Study Includes Clay Hill and Leahurst.

End of notes about Local Plan.

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Notes on the Society’s policy on planning applications, along with the Cheshire West and Chester (CWaC) notes on planning are given below.

To read and comment on planning applications go to:

https://pa.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/online-applications/

Neston Civic Society Policy on planning applications

We send comments to the planning authority (Cheshire West and Chester Council), who make decisions.
We look at applications in Neston, Little Neston and Ness, and in the part of Parkgate ward as far as Earle Drive. We look also at major applications in a wider area that are likely to affect Neston residents.
We take note of comments from neighbours and other residents.
We take account of the planning authority’s policy statements, including those from Ellesmere Port and Neston Council that are still in place.
We take account of Neston Neighbourhood Plan.
We pay special attention to Neston Conservation Area, aiming to preserve what is best of the historic buildings and ambience.
We encourage retail and service businesses in Neston town centre, and other enterprises in Clay Hill Light Industrial Park.

Cheshire West and Chester Planning Rules

Matters taken into account
Only matters relevant to planning control can be taken into account when reaching a decision, for example:

• the appearance and character of the area or street, including the design and materials of buildings

• other environmental issues such as noise

• traffic and road safety

• employment and the local economy

• impact on public services

• impact of a building on the amenity of neighbouring properties, for example privacy or physical effect of the building.

Matters not taken into account
We cannot normally consider:

• the fact that development may have already begun

• ‘trade objections’ from potential competitors

• moral arguments for example opposition to betting shops or amusement arcades

• the belief that an application is submitted with the intention of selling the property at an enhanced value

• the loss of an attractive view from private property

• the fear that a nearby house might be devalued

• the fact that the applicant does not own the land

• allegations that a proposal might affect private rights, such as restrictive covenants or rights of way. Such rights will not be affected by a grant of planning permission.

• the fear that a building may be used for a different purpose in the course of time.

• the personal circumstances of the applicant.

• matters covered by other legislation e.g. Building Regulations or the Health & Safety at Work Act.