Volunteers are working on the final stages of a local plan which will take into account the growth of Sandbach's population and housing targets.

The Sandbach Neighbourhood Plan Working Group, a group of local volunteers, has met weekly for the last year to create a new Neighbourhood Plan to replace the 2022 version.

The revised 2026 Plan includes site allocations and specifies housing targets, which were not included in the 2022 version, and also incorporates more robust policies within the context of Sandbach.

A comprehensive community and stakeholder communication exercise was undertaken in April to check that the themes, policies and site selection criteria are appropriate.

The proposed plan is nearly ready for the final stage in its preparation so it can then be scrutinised by the Regulator.

What does the final stage involve?

This final stage includes a further consultation that will last for six weeks under Regulation 14 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012.

This requires Sandbach Town Council, as the qualifying body, to undertake formal consultation on the draft Neighbourhood Plan. This includes publicising the plan to bring it to the attention of people who live, work or carry on business in the Sandbach Parish.

How will residents, businesses and community groups be able to view and review the draft Neighbourhood Plan?

The plan will be uploaded to view online shortly and printed copies will also be made available through Sandbach Town Council.

Regulation 14 consultation also requires statutory bodies and key stakeholders to be consulted (listed in paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012).

The following developments have taken place regarding the proposed draft Neighbourhood Plan:

Sandbach Boundary

There have been boundary changes made since the publication of the 2022 Sandbach Neighbourhood Plan by Cheshire East after consultation, so the Sandbach Parish boundary and the Sandbach Neighbourhood Area boundary are now the same.

The development known as Albion Lock off the road to Middlewich was formerly part of Moston but is now in the Sandbach area.

In addition, some land that was previously part of Sandbach, off the Crewe Road, but is inside the Haslington Parish is now recognised as such.

Designated Local Green Spaces and Site allocations

The new Sandbach Neighbourhood Plan has designated Local Green Spaces and has allocated four sites, including Albion Lock, for which planning permission has already been granted.

This should allow Cheshire East to develop a new Local Plan in line with Sandbach's needs and permit the new Sandbach Neighbourhood Plan, together with the Local Plan, to be used effectively.

Councillor Mike Muldoon who is Chair of the Working Group said: "It is important that the housing targets are fair, agreed and justified so the Regulator can be satisfied. Therefore, there is further crucial work to be done in the next few weeks to ensure this is achieved smoothly and effectively."

Traffic and Transport Movement

The Working Group has also been examining ways to make traffic and transport movement better and commissioned four technical reports to help with this. Cheshire East have responded by bringing forward their own planned traffic surveys and micro simulation for Crewe to include Sandbach too.

Surrounding Parish Councils

Consultations with the Parish Councils of all of the parishes that surround Sandbach have been done in November, January and May and this has been very helpful in ensuring there is consistency and mutual respect for each of the parishes and their objectives and policies to ensure sustainability and a commitment to work together effectively.

Sandbach intends to remain a historic market town set in a rural environment.

Consultation with Cheshire East Council

Consultations between the Working Group and Cheshire East representatives have been ongoing throughout the last twelve months and the draft plan is to be sent this week to the CEC Planning Manager for comments back to the Working Group, together with a screening exercise offered by the CEC Planning Manager ready for the Regulation 14 consultation and process through the Regulator.

Consultant feedback

In August 2025, a consultant who has been advising the Working Group produced a Housing Needs Assessment (using a nationally respected formula) which concluded that:

• Infrastructure indicators point to limited capacity for further large-scale expansion, with congestion, energy grid strain, and constrained public amenity budgets all impacting strategic viability.
• Given this context, future housing delivery in Sandbach should prioritise targeted infill, affordability, and spatial equity over quantum.
• The town has already exceeded its contribution under previous frameworks.

New delivery should concentrate on:

• Small-scale infill within walking distance of the town centre
• Tenures that address exclusion — especially social and affordable rent
• Typologies aligned to changing demographics, including downsizers and single earners
• Energy-efficient and accessible homes, guided by EPC and retrofit indicators

This approach would enable Sandbach to consolidate its growth while directly addressing its affordability and spatial inclusion gaps — achieving qualitative planning goals rather than simply meeting numeric thresholds.

Building on Sandbach's proven track record of housing delivery and the clear evidence of affordability pressure and spatial exclusion, this strategy sets out a refined approach to future supply that prioritises quality, inclusion, and place integrity over raw volume.

In addition, objectives should include:

• Mitigate the overprovision risk by factoring in over-delivery from 2010–2025 relative to borough-wide targets.
• Align with infrastructure capacity to avoid overstretching local networks.

Dennis Smith, a member of the Working Group, who spoke at a recent Sandbach Town Council Planning Committee meeting: "It is important that the details and targets set out in the new Neighbourhood Plan are agreed with Cheshire East and this includes a target of no more than 90 dwellings per year.

"It would be most helpful if the four Cheshire East Councillors for Sandbach can unanimously and effectively convey this message so agreement on this is reached and Regulation 14 can then proceed smoothly.

"We have been trying hard throughout the last twelve months to reach a clear and appropriate agreement on housing targets as part of the wider issues of sustainability and making a Plan that is sustainable for Sandbach.

"I hope that all the hard work and tenacity to get things done as efficiently and as thoroughly as possible can be fruitful as we then achieve a Plan that is truly effective and will align with and be helpful to the Local Plan for Cheshire East."

Would you like to know more about Sandbach?

Free from clickbait, pop-up ads and unwanted surveys, Sandbach Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our town.

Please consider following Sandbach Nub News on Facebook or X (Twitter)

We also have a weekly newsletter with the TOP FIVE stories of the week - sign up here