Have your say: consulation opens today on 'Places For Everyone' plan.

The public consultation on 'Places for Everyone' begins today (Monday 9 August), and will run for eight weeks until 3 October.

It's a chance to have your say on the joint development plan for homes, jobs and sustainable growth across nine boroughs of Greater Manchester, including Oldham.  

The plan replaces the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework which was rejected last year after Stockport Council refused to back the plans after a row about building on green belt land.

Residents, businesses and local groups are now being encouraged to take part in the consultation on the news plan, which was approved by Oldham Council last month.

The consultation is the final stage in the preparation of the plan before it is ready to be submitted to the Secretary of State.

What is the plan?

Places for Everyone will determine what kind of development takes place, maximising the use of brownfield land and urban spaces while at the same time protecting Green Belt land from the risk of unplanned development. It will also ensure that all new developments are sustainably integrated into Greater Manchester’s existing transport network or supported by new infrastructure.

The plan has been produced using the evidence from the drafts of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, as well as the views that were gathered as part of the previous consultations.

Since 2016, work has been carried out to reduce the number of proposed sites and the amount of Green Belt take within sites, and to propose new Green Belt additions – the result being a 60 per cent reduction in the impact on Green Belt land compared to the 2016 plan. Ninety per cent of housing allocations in the new plan are in urban areas.

What is the consulation?

The eight-week consultation is now live on www.GMConsult.org, while papers concerning the plan have been available to view online for the last four weeks.

People will be able to view the proposed development sites in the virtual exhibition space and see the supporting evidence online, enabling them to engage fully with the consultation in a range of safe and accessible ways.

Hard copies of the plan will also be available to view at designated locations in the nine boroughs, and other engagement events will be taking place throughout the districts. Residents should contact Oldham Council for more information.

City Mayor Paul Dennett, Chair of the Places for Everyone Joint Committee and GMCA Lead for Housing, Planning and Homelessness, said: “This is the final stage in the preparation of Places for Everyone, and it’s really important that residents, businesses, and all stakeholders across the nine boroughs have the chance to review the plan and have their say.

“It’s important for people to know that this will be a different kind of consultation to the ones previously carried out, with questions about whether the plan meets specific criteria. All nine councils have taken steps to make this consultation as open and accessible and possible, and will be engaging with residents over the next eight weeks to make sure everyone knows how they can take part and have their say.”

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