Flixton saved as GMSF focuses on Carrington and Timperley

While proposals to build houses on Flixton’s Green Belt have been removed from the Greater Manchester Spatial framework, large swathes of land around Timperley and Carrington are due to host up to 12,400 new homes and more than 4m sq ft of employment space under the latest plans.

Under the updated document, published this week and outlining the delivery of more than 201,000 homes across the borough to 2037, Trafford has two sites that will be released from the Green Belt: the Timperley Wedge, and Carrington.

The former William Wroe golf course had been one of the sites put forward for Green Belt release by Trafford’s previous Conservative administration, and removing this site from the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework had been one of Labour Cllr Andrew Western’s pledges before he was elected as leader of the council in May last year.

Prior to Labour unseating the Conservatives, Western had outlined a plan to instead add extra homes to the Timperley Wedge site, which has been allocated for housing under the framework.

This site, between Hale, Hale Barns, Timperley, Baguley, and Wythenshawe Hospital, has been allocated to provide around 2,400 new homes over the next 18 years along with a minimum of nearly 650,000 sq ft of employment space, primarily offices.

The allocation for housing here is significantly lower than the originally-proposed 3,300 residential units put forward in 2016.

A large portion of the site covers land to the rear of Ringway Golf Club, while the former Wyevale Garden Centre, which was bought for housing development last year, is also included.

However, a large chunk of Green Belt remains to the west of Timperley Brook and Clay Lane which the Greater Manchester Combined Authority said would maintain the separation of Timperley and Hale.

The south-eastern part of the site will be the focus of the employment land; much of this has already been allocated for development. This area will also be served by an extension to the Metrolink network to Davenport Green.

Higher-density housing will be situated to the north of the site, while lower density homes are not being considered. A minimum of 30% of the homes across the site will be designated as affordable.

Along with the Metrolink extension to Davenport Green, there are also proposals to build a spine road through the site to improve east-west connections between Altrincham and the airport, along with a network of walking and cycling routes.

The southern part of the site has been allocated as an HS2 ‘growth area’; the Green Belt here will be protection from any other form of development until HS2 is built.

Trafford’s other site in the GMSF is at Carrington, where much of Carrington Moss is set to be built on. A maximum of 10,000 homes will be delivered here on a plot of land which borders the western end of Ashton-on-Mersey in the north, Woodhouses to the south, and Partington and the Ship Canal to the west.

Carrington’s allocation, which could host up to 10,000 homes

Much of this area has long been earmarked for development, with the former Shell works being part of Himor’s Future Carrington development containing 725 homes and 1m sq ft of commercial space.

Like the Timperley Wedge, there will be a minimum of 30% affordable homes here, with the highest density of homes bordering Sale West.

A new local centre to serve the new homes is proposed, featuring education, healthcare, and shopping facilities, while the disused railway that runs through the site, eventually running across the canal to Irlam and Cadishead, will be considered as a sustainable transport corridor. Proposals to convert this into a walking and cycling route have already been put forward.

New link roads are proposed through the site with the main point of access being from Junction 8 of the M60.

Along with the homes there is also an allocation for more than 4m sq ft of industrial and warehousing employment land up to 2037, with the site having the potential to house more than 8m sq ft in the future.

Although large swathes of green belt are set to go, a number of mitigation measures are proposed, including minimising the impact on the Brookheys Covert SSSI, and potentially introducing wetland habitat within the site. There will also be enhancements made at Dainewell Woods to preserve the existing tree belt that sits on the border of Sale West.

Cllr Western said: “We’ve listened to public concerns about allocating land [within the] Green Belt. For example there will be no development on Green Belt land in Flixton.

“The new plan reduces the amount of proposed development on Green Belt land in Trafford while at the same time meets our ambitions for economic growth.

“Another priority for the council is to build high quality homes which will contribute to meeting housing needs in Trafford. There will be a real focus on the delivery of affordable housing as part of development schemes across Trafford.

“This plan will also help us deliver the jobs to meet our aspirations over the next 20 years as we continue to make Trafford a great place to live and work.”