The government has published new legislation and guidance that requires local plans to be prepared, examined and adopted within a streamlined 30 month timetable, with defined gateway stages to ensure progress, quality and compliance at key points.
Section 15B of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and Regulation 4 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026 include the need to publish a Local Plan Timetable and keep it up to date.
The purpose of the Local Plan Timetable is to set out key milestones for the preparation of the Local Plan, development plan documents and supplementary plans. It provides a clear, transparent programme for plan preparation and highlights opportunities for community and stakeholder engagement.
The matters that the Local Plan will deal with
The Local Plan will be a comprehensive Local Plan covering the 15-year period from December 2028 to December 2043, replacing the existing Local Plan (Part One) Strategic Policies (2015) and Local Plan (Part Two) Land Allocations and Detailed Policies (2019).
It will include a vision and strategic priorities for the area, setting out the overall amount and distribution of new development, site allocations and other policies for the determination of planning applications.
A Policies Map will accompany the plan and illustrate geographically where its policies apply.
The Local Plan will incorporate the minerals and waste plan for the Cheshire West and Chester area.
The geographical area that the plan will cover
The Local Plan will cover the administrative area of Cheshire West and Chester Council. This area is shown on the map. The Local Plan is not being prepared as a joint local plan.
Supplementary Plans to be prepared
There are no current confirmed plans to prepare any Supplementary Plans or any joint Supplementary Plans.
Key milestone dates
This timetable comes into effect on 12 June 2026.
Key milestone |
Description |
Date |
|---|---|---|
Get ready |
||
| Make 'notice of intention to commence Local Plan preparation' available | Publishing the notice of intention to commence Local Plan preparation gives communities and stakeholders advance notice of plan‑making and sets out when and how they can get involved. The notice must be published at least four months before Gateway 1. | 12 June 2026 |
| Start date for Local Plan scoping consultation | Consultation to seek views from stakeholders on the scope of the Local Plan and how they wish to be engaged during the plan-making process. | 7 September 2026 |
| End date for Local Plan scoping consultation | All comments on the scoping consultation must be received on or before the specified date. Following consultation, a summary of the of responses received will be published. | 28 September 2026 |
| Gateway 1: Publication of self-assessment summary | Publication of a document setting out details of how we have got ready for plan making, formally marking the start of the 30-month plan preparation period. | 16 October 2026 |
Prepare the Plan |
||
| Start date for proposed Local Plan content and evidence consultation |
Consultation for a period of at least six weeks on the proposed Local Plan content and evidence, including a draft vision, any proposed aims and objectives, the proposed spatial strategy, and summary of the evidence gathered to date.
|
23 November 2026 |
| End date for proposed Local Plan content and evidence consultation |
All comments on the Proposed Local Plan content and evidence consultation must be received on or before the specified date. Following consultation, a summary of the of responses received will be published.
|
8 January 2027 |
| Gateway 2 | Seeking observations and advice from the Planning Inspectorate to identify and resolve potential soundness issues early and to ensure that the Local Plan is on track to meet legal requirements. Once the Gateway 2 assessment is complete, the assessor’s formal report and observations will be published. Gateway 2 will take between four and six weeks. | 1 March 2027 |
| Start date for Proposed Local Plan consultation | Consultation for at least eight weeks on the full draft Local Plan and policies map and supporting documents. | 1 October 2027 |
| End date for Proposed Local Plan consultation | All comments on the Proposed Local Plan consultation must be received on or before the specified date. Following consultation, a summary of the of responses received will be published. | 1 December 2027 |
| Gateway 3 | The final assessment stage by the Planning Inspectorate before the Local Plan can be submitted for examination. The gateway assessor will decide whether the Local Plan is ready for submission, based on the prescribed requirements for legal compliance and the completeness of the submission documents. Following the assessment, the assessor’s report, submitted documents and a Gateway 3 completion statement will be published. | 1 March 2028 |
Examination |
||
| Submission of the Local Plan for Examination | Subject to passing Gateway 3, the Local Plan and all supporting evidence will be formally submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination to determine whether it is sound and compliant with national planning policy. | 1 May 2028 |
Adoption |
||
| Adoption of the Cheshire West and Chester Local Plan | Following examination, the Local Plan will be considered for adoption by the Council. Once adopted, the Local Plan will form part of the statutory development plan for the Cheshire West and Chester area. | 1 December 2028 |
Please note that where precise dates are currently unknown, the first of the month is used but more precise dates will be added through future updates to the Local Plan Timetable.
Schedule of amendments
The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026, Part 2 Regulation 6 requires that we update the timetable monthly (if necessary) and at specific stages in the production of the Local Plan. We will maintain and publish a schedule of any amendments made to this timetable here.
First published: Friday 12 June 2026
Last updated: Friday 12 June 2026
Availability of documents
Copies of this timetable are also available to view:
-
Document
- at our principal office (The Portal, Wellington Rd, Ellesmere Port CH65 0BA) during normal office hours (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm)
- and at Wyvern House, The Drumber, Winsford, CW7 1AH during normal opening hours (Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9am - 1pm; Tuesday and Thursday 3pm - 5pm)
Data download
The Council must follow the approved data standard to publish our Local Plan Timetable and Local Plan datasets so that we meet the requirements of the Planning Data (England) Regulations 2026. These datasets will be updated when changes have been made to the timetable and when milestones have been met. This data is provided under the Open Government Licence and can be downloaded in CSV File format:
Further information
For further information, please contact: planningpolicy@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk