diff --git a/.github/workflows/pip-compile.yml b/.github/workflows/pip-compile.yml
index 2b89df2563..91bea6488d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pip-compile.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pip-compile.yml
@@ -42,5 +42,6 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           make install-test-requirements
           make install-pre-commit
+          pip install pip-tools
       - name: Run pip-compile
         run: make pip-compile
diff --git a/RELEASE.md b/RELEASE.md
index a765e402e9..7937293234 100644
--- a/RELEASE.md
+++ b/RELEASE.md
@@ -9,10 +9,12 @@
 * Modified the mechanism of importing datasets, raise more explicit error when dependencies are missing.
 * Added validation for configuration file used to override run commands via the CLI.
 * Moved the default environment `base` and `local` from config loader to `_ProjectSettings`. This enables the use of config loader as a standalone class without affecting existing Kedro Framework users.
+
 ## Bug fixes and other changes
 * Added a new field `add-ons` to `pyproject.toml` when a project is created.
 * Reduced `spaceflights` data to minimise waiting times during tutorial execution.
 * Added validation to node tags to be consistent with node names.
+* Removed `pip-tools` as a dependency.
 
 ## Breaking changes to the API
 * Renamed the `data_sets` argument and the `_data_sets` attribute in `Catalog` and their references to `datasets` and `_datasets` respectively.
diff --git a/features/steps/test_plugin/pyproject.toml b/features/steps/test_plugin/pyproject.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..45644756ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/features/steps/test_plugin/pyproject.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+[project]
+name = "test_plugin"
+description = "Dummy plugin with hook implementations and custom starters"
+version = "0.1"
+
+[project.entry-points."kedro.hooks"]
+test_plugin = "plugin:hooks"
+
+[project.entry-points."kedro.starters"]
+starter = "plugin:starters"
diff --git a/features/steps/test_plugin/setup.py b/features/steps/test_plugin/setup.py
deleted file mode 100644
index d76b760a78..0000000000
--- a/features/steps/test_plugin/setup.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-from setuptools import find_packages, setup
-
-setup(
-    name="test_plugin",
-    version="0.1",
-    description="Dummy plugin with hook implementations and custom starters",
-    packages=find_packages(),
-    entry_points={
-        "kedro.hooks": ["test_plugin = plugin:hooks"],
-        "kedro.starters": ["starter =  plugin:starters"],
-    },
-)
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 8b7b4b9592..bb2a5c745c 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ dependencies = [
     "more_itertools>=8.14.0",
     "omegaconf>=2.1.1",
     "parse>=1.19.0",
-    "pip-tools>=6.5",
     "pluggy>=1.0",
     "PyYAML>=4.2,<7.0",
     "rich>=12.0,<14.0",