AGMA’s seven-point plan for 2012

A "much more focused work programme" with greater collaboration and less overlap between council planning departments is the objective set out in the strategy for 2012/13 to be discussed by Greater Manchester's combined authority on Monday.

The number of priorities overseen by the Planning & Housing Commission of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities is being reduced from 20 this year to seven in 2012.

The seven priorities, in AGMA's own words, are:

1. Delivering housing to support growth:

• 1a) A fit-for-purpose housing land supply: The primary aims of this project are to facilitate the delivery of housing in Greater Manchester by ensuring GM has a supply of market facing sites and can attract investment in locations which generate value.
• 1b) A GM housing investment model: The key aim of this project is to offer a new investment model which can be adopted across GM to deliver new homes (affordable and market rate homes), which, in a climate of reductions in traditional public funding, may not otherwise be provided.
• 1c) Affordable Homes Programme delivery: The key aim of this project is to maximise the scale and impact of the AHP investment within Greater Manchester, ensuring that it complements wider GM strategies for growth and regeneration as far as possible

2. Flood and Water management:

• The project focus is on the short to medium term time horizons (ie up to two years) and the key aim is to support districts in meeting their responsibilities under the Flood and Water Management Act as efficiently as possible, linking FWM to new investment opportunities.

3. Collaborative services in strategic planning and housing:

• This project explores and develops specific proposals for greater collaboration on strategic planning and housing functions at the GM level, improving resilience and identifying efficiencies for districts.

4. The GM spatial Investment Framework:

• The key aim will be the production of an agreed Greater Manchester Spatial Investment Framework. This will identify GM spatial priorities for investment and begin to clarify the associated infrastructure requirements

5. Integrated Infrastructure Planning Process:

• This project will establish an infrastructure planning process alongside the Spatial Investment Framework and governance arrangements for informing GM decisions on strategic infrastructure investments. Specific objectives include identifying the infrastructure barriers to delivering GMs pipeline of investment projects.

The combined authority for the city region wants to see "stronger project management measures and engagement by the planning and housing commission in this work."

The review of the work programme that goes before the commission on Monday runs to 12 pages and contains a more detailed breakdown of the priorities and the 20 'deliverables' in the current financial year. Click here to view the report .

The full executive board of the combined authority is due to approve the planning and housing work programme in February.