Manchester local plan to be updated
A new local plan for Manchester will be set into motion at an executive meeting next week.
The new plan will replace the Core Strategy, adopted in 2012, as a result of legislative changes introduced by the National Planning Policy Framework in 2019, which state local plans should be updated every five years.
The executive is asked that permission be granted for the consultation on the issues that will inform the scope and content of the plan. This consultation would take place during an eight week period beginning 8 February.
The new local plan will to respond to key strategic issues including achieving a zero carbon Manchester by 2038, formulating a sustainable transport system, ensuring critical infrastructure requirements are addressed, and creating neighbourhoods that promote and enable healthy lifestyles.
The report highlights the main challenges in Manchester including the need to improve and diversify the housing offer in the north, tackle congestion along arterial routes in the city centre and meet the demand for student housing in the south.
Also on the executive meeting agenda is a report by the deputy chief executive and city treasurer outlining the council’s financial strategy with regard to the 2020/21 budget.
The report states that core spending power for Manchester is at 7% which exceeds the national average for the first time in ‘many years’. This increase comes after it was announced that the provisional local government finance settlement for 2020-21 would increase 4.4% to £49.1bn from £46.2bn.
The proposals set out in this consultation will give local authorities a 4.4% real-terms increase in their Core Spending Power, which will rise from £46.2 billion in 2019-20 to £49.1 billion in 2020-21.
On the issue of homelessness, the report states that a £38m increase of the The Homelessness Reduction Act Grant will see the council receive an additional £267,000 for 2020/21.
Manchester will receive £2.1m as part of the Flexible Housing Support Grant to tackle the issue, the same provision as the previous financial year.
The report says: “Whilst the additional funding from the Government is welcomed, it is not considered sufficient to address the underlying need, particularly following the austerity measures implemented since 2010/11. There remains no clear longer term national funding plan beyond 2020/21, with uncertainty in a number of key funding areas.”
The Executive will agree its final budget recommendations on 12 February 2020 and the Council will then make its final decisions and will set the budget on 6 March 2020.
The executive meeting agenda, released on Wednesday, was also set to include consultation over Manchester Central Retail Park Strategic Regeneration Framework but that item has since been withdrawn.
A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said that the SRF was on the agenda because it is due to be updated but that it was withdrawn because the report was not ready.
