Cheshire East is set for a huge increase in its number of jobs and houses over the next 15 years, according to a series of newly published reports.
Evidence gathered during the suspension of the examination of the Cheshire East Local Plan shows that the borough's economy is likely to grow much more quickly than previously expected.
The region has been projected to achieve an average growth rate of 0.7 per cent per year between now and 2030 compared to a predicted growth rate of 0.4 per cent envisaged in 2009 when work began on the local plan.
As a result, Cheshire East Council has to make plans to accommodate an estimated 31,410 net new jobs, which are likely to be created by 2030. The initial version of the local plan envisaged net jobs growth of 13,900.
This strong jobs growth would create a need for 36,000 new homes by 2030 – 7,000 more than were identified in the submitted version of the local plan. The council reported that when recent planning permissions are combined with the new housing proposed in the submitted local plan, the locations of approximately 33,000 homes have already been identified.
Councillor Michael Jones, leader of Cheshire East Council, said: "When we began work on the local plan in 2009, we were in the midst of a deep recession, during which the UK's GDP fell by 7.2 per cent.
"In 2012, the sun started shining again and Cheshire East is now in the midst of a jobs boom.
"Cheshire East now has more businesses per head than any other North West district. Seventeen of the region's top 200 companies are headquartered in the borough and 14 of our small- and medium-sized businesses were named in 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain, a special report published by the London Stock Exchange.
"Because a good proportion of our existing workforce will reach retirement age in the next few years, this means that we need to attract more people into the borough to maintain our strong economy."
The evidence released by the council will inform further work on developing a comprehensive plan for the area, and this will be submitted to the planning inspector by the end of July 2015. It is anticipated that initial examination hearings will then resume in the early autumn.