Places for Everyone takes big step forward
Don’t get too excited – there are still a few hurdles to overcome before final approval is secured for the Greater Manchester spatial framework.
Planning inspectors have issued a series of modifications for Places for Everyone, a document that plots out the development future for every Greater Manchester local authority except for Stockport. This joined-up vision has been in the works since August 2014.
Each council will now need to approve the inspectors’ modifications for public consultation. Greater Manchester Combined Authority officials say that the consultation process will last eight weeks, which is longer than required.
Information for the public consultation will be released “in due course”, GMCA said.
A quick peek at a list of proposed main modifications, published on the Places for Everyone examination website earlier this week, shows movements to extend Places for Everyone’s validity to 2039 and to increase the amount of Green Belt released from 4,300 acres to 5,500 acres.
In July, news broke that the 74-acre Chat Moss site north of Irlam station had been removed from Places for Everyone. The site had been set for 800 homes. Its removal was done to preserve peatland habitat.
Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett, who has been leading GMCA’s efforts for Places for Everyone, welcomed the progress towards consultation.
“It has been a long road to get us here, but the prize at the end of more homes, more jobs and sustainable growth rejuvenating our green spaces, reshaping our town centres and integrating new developments with our transport infrastructure to unlock new opportunities and tackle inequalities looks ever closer,” he said.
He added later: “Ultimately, having a city-regional spatial plan of the nine local authorities will be a critical tool in supporting Greater Manchester’s case for further devolution from central government, whilst also providing us with a strategic blueprint, along with district’s local plans to further advocate for the residents, families and communities of Greater Manchester with national government, the investment and development communities and within a global economy.”
Dennett said that 2024 was the goal for adopting Places for Everyone, which would see its implementation arrive a decade after it was conceived.
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