Manchester set for Local Plan overhaul

Manchester City Council said it will open a public consultation on a revised Local Plan in February.

The new Local Plan will set out a strategy for development over the next 15-20 years and will replace the city’s current Core Strategy which was adopted in 2012. The review comes after legislative changes introduced by the National Planning Policy Framework in 2019, which state that local plans should be updated every five years.

At an meeting on Wednesday, the executive committee was asked that permission be granted for the consultation on the issues that will inform the scope and content of the plan. The consultation is to take place during an eight-week period beginning 8 February.

The Local Plan will act as a framework for new building and investment, in order to meet Manchester’s growth ambitions and development standards..

It will also take into account the Our Manchester strategy, the emerging Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF), the NPPF and Greater Manchester’s new devolved planning powers.

In addition, it will 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 challenges, including the need to improve and diversify the housing offer in the north of the city, tackle congestion along arterial routes in the centre and meet the demand for student housing in the south.

A draft plan is expected to be prepared by winter 2020/21 and a final plan will be published in summer or autumn of 2021 for statutory consultation, ahead of submission to the Secretary of State.

Cllr Angeliki Stogia, Manchester City Council’s executive member for environment, planning and transport, said: “Developing a new Local Plan is a vital process that will shape where new homes will be built, where new employment opportunities will be created, what amenities are needed and the transport infrastructure that connect the entire city.

“This is a plan that will touch all of our lives in the next two decades, so we are keen to hear from as many people as possible about the issues they face – as well as potential options to improve them – and make sure everyone has a chance to shape our city.”