Oldham Councillors Seek Withdrawal from Greater Manchester Housing Plan

A majority of Oldham councillors are calling for the borough’s withdrawal from Greater Manchester’s collaborative housing and commercial development initiative. The “Places for Everyone” program received approval earlier this year, with nine out of the region’s ten local authorities consenting to designate land for 115,000 new residences over the coming 15-year period. However, following Labour’s loss of its governing majority on the council during May’s local elections, opposition representatives passed a vote for the local authority to formally request the deputy prime minister for an exit from the agreement. The council characterized this as “an incredibly risky course of action,” further stating that it was “considering next steps.” Liberal Democrat leader Howard Sykes, who introduced the motion to the council, stated that his party had been “against the destruction of our green belt in pursuit of developer profit from day one.” He added, “When Labour lost control of the council earlier this year, we promised the people of Oldham we would force another vote on this issue and lead the charge to pull out of this scheme in favour of a brownfield-first strategy for truly affordable housing.” The concept of “green belt,” established over 70 years ago to restrict the expansion of extensive urban areas, designates approximately 13% of land in England as protected from development. The “Places for Everyone” initiative received approval in March, following extensive consultations, revisions, and a thorough assessment by the government’s Planning Inspectorate. Contentiously, the councils have indicated that a portion of protected green belt land will need to be utilized to satisfy housing requirements, notwithstanding objections from impacted communities. According to the existing plan, Oldham is scheduled to construct 11,560 residences by 2039. Nevertheless, with the Labour government having raised its house-building objective since assuming office, the council stated that a revised local plan for Oldham might necessitate the borough locating space for an additional 54% of homes. Councillor Elaine Taylor, who serves as Oldham Labour’s deputy leader and cabinet member for decent homes, commented: “If Oldham were to withdraw from Places for Everyone we would almost certainly see green belt sites, which we have fought hard and worked with residents to protect, be built on.” She further stated, “The Oldham Lib Dems have been told this time and again but they insist on continuing with these reckless shenanigans, putting the entire green belt at risk just so they can score a petty political point.” Advocates from the Save Oldham’s Greenbelt Group expressed approval for this recent development, asserting a “lack of affordable housing targets” and that the scheme was “relying on data up to 10 years old in some cases.” They added, “We remain very concerned that very little consideration was given to ecology during the largely developer-led site selection process, and some of the green belt allocations are prime wildlife havens hosting endangered species.” An Oldham Council spokesperson remarked: “Places for Everyone (PfE) is Greater Manchester’s plan to ensure that the right homes are being developed in the right places across the city region whilst safeguarding our valuable green spaces.” The spokesperson continued, “The reality is that the level of housing need in Greater Manchester means that there will inevitably be some limited encroachment on to our greenbelt. In Oldham we successfully reduced this from 7.5% of our green belt to just 2.5% by maximising use of brownfield availability in the borough.“ The spokesperson further explained, “Leaving PfE would be an incredibly risky course of action for Oldham because it means our green belt land and other green spaces would no longer benefit from the protections that PfE provides, making it easier for developers to build on them. ” “Therefore, officers recommended that we didn’t write to the deputy prime minister to ask her to consider a request to withdraw from PfE.“ “We are now considering next steps.”