In response to a media enquiry following Oldham Council’s recent decision to leave Places for Everyone, the Greater Manchester spatial plan, and criticism levelled by Oldham Council of Stockport’s earlier decision to leave the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, Cllr Mark Hunter, Liberal Democrat Leader of Stockport Council, said: “We make no apology for trying our very best to protect valuable Green Belt for future generations. It is what our residents want and expect. Stockport has always been a target for developers, which is why we chose to leave the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework in the first place.
“In July, after many months of delay caused by the chaos of the last Tory government, we were able to publish a draft Local Plan that was ready for consultation and was a true ‘Brownfield-first’ approach, using previously developed land and involved minimal use of green field sites.
“The Labour government have now changed the rules, introducing a new, compulsory housing target that effectively doubles the number of new houses they require us to build. This will require extensive development on Green Belt sites, but we still await government guidance on how this has to be done, stalling our plan yet again. The councils within Places for Everyone face a similar increase and will have to release even more Green Belt to satisfy this centrally imposed target. Labour nationally are simply giving developers carte blanche to concrete over our countryside.
“We have always accepted the need for new homes, but they must be the right homes, in the right places and central government targets should not trump local decision making.
“You might have thought that Oldham Council faced enough challenges of its own without the need to lash out at its neighbours with baseless and disingenuous attacks.”
