Stockport Liberal Democrats are warning that the borough is in danger of becoming a target for developers and get-rich-quick land owners, following the publication of the draft Greater Manchester Spatial Framework yesterday. The plan put forward by the ten Greater Manchester local authorities details a number of locations across the conurbation where new housing development could take place.
Although no definitive decisions have been made, and the plan will shortly open for an eight week public consultation period, Cllr Mark Hunter, Deputy Leader of the Lib Dem Group at Stockport Town Hall, is concerned that Stockport is already earmarked to take more than its fair share of new housing. When a call for potential sites was made earlier in the year the Greater Manchester Combined Authority reported that, of 640 sites identified across the city region, fully 20% (128) were in the Stockport borough – including several in the Green Belt.
Cllr Hunter commented “We already knew Stockport is an attractive place to live and work so it is no surprise that developers are targeting our area but we must be robust in our defence of the Green Belt and explore every other avenue before we even contemplate building there. At the moment there are too many sites where derelict buildings remain untouched and others where planning permissions have been granted but no houses have been built and these must be utilised first.”
“Liberal Democrats recognise the need for new homes in our borough, particularly to help those who are struggling to get a first foot on the housing ladder, but it cannot be a blank cheque for developers and land owners to concrete over the Green Belt”, Cllr Hunter concluded.
