The Liberal Democrats’ second attempt to protect Stockport’s greenbelt was blocked tonight when Labour and Conservative councillors once more worked together against it.
The Lib Dems say that Stockport should leave the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework and instead the borough should work with local residents to develop a bottom-up plan that better meets local needs and protects our green spaces.
“We will not give up – the fight to protect our precious greenbelt goes on.” said Cllr Iain Roberts, who proposed the motion. “The Tory/Labour case was exposed at the end of the night when they tried to hold onto two totally contradictory positions. On the one hand, they say that leaving the GMSF would inevitably lead to a thousand more houses being built on the greenbelt and to developers building wherever they like. But in the next breath they claim that if the council doesn’t like the GMSF in a year’s time, it can leave then. Both cannot be true!”
“It’s very clear that Stockport is being targeted by developers and landowners looking to make a profit from building on the greenbelt. That’s unacceptable. We want a plan that puts local people first.” said Cllr Mark Hunter, who seconded the motion.
“It’s clear that the other parties failed to support the motion because it came from the Liberal Democrats – they are putting political point-scoring before the needs of our communities,” he added.
The Liberal Democrats have pledged to continue the campaign to protect Stockport’s greenbelt.
