The local house building target has been almost quadrupled to achieve the Labour government's new policy.
The total for Cheshire West and Chester, each year, is to be 1914 new homes per year - instead of the existing target of just over 500.
Inevitably this huge increase, and the speed at which the government wants it done, means that local residents and campaigners will find it far harder to stand up to developers wanting to build on inappropriate green spaces in our local communities.
This erosion of local safeguards will place even more of Cheshire's beautiful countryside at risk of development to meet a target which local Conservatives believe has been cooked up in Whitehall without any local consultation.
The new planning guidance will give the requirements of Neighbourhood Plans much less weight with the balance in favour of the developer and Cheshire West expects to receive speculative applications from developers.
And these are likely to be in rural areas, particularly in previously protected green belt, with impacts for existing communities.
We have always supported a brownfield first approach. Once a green space is gone, it’s gone forever. Housing must also be delivered sustainably - where infrastructure like roads, schools, GP surgeries - are built alongside.
CWaC has overachieved on its housing targets EVERY year since 2010, consistently having more houses built than other local authorities in England.
The reality is that CWaC has been penalised by this Labour government for consistently overachieving on our existing targets.
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