The Greater Manchester Plan for Homes, Jobs and the Environment

Closed 18 Mar 2019

Opened 14 Jan 2019

Contact

planningandhousing@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk

Overview

Greater Manchester's Plan for Homes, Jobs and the Environment: The Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, is all about making our city region fit for the future and one of the best places in the world to live, work and visit.

This is how young people from across Greater Manchester see their city-region in the future ...  

 

Greater Manchester’s Plan for Homes, Jobs, and the Environment (the “spatial framework”) has been put together by Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which comprises the Mayor of Greater Manchester and the leaders of Greater Manchester's ten local councils.

This plan is about providing the right homes, in the right places, for people across our city region. It’s about creating jobs and improving infrastructure to ensure the future prosperity of Greater Manchester.

The plan talks about jobs and homes, but it’s about so much more than bricks and mortar. It's about reducing inequalities, improving the lives of our residents, and transforming Greater Manchester into the world-leading city-region we know it can be.

The plan focuses on making the most of Greater Manchester’s brownfield sites, prioritising redevelopment of town centres and other sustainable locations. It will also help to address the housing crisis with a minimum target of 50,000 additional affordable homes – 30,000 of which will be social housing.

The net loss of green belt has been reduced by more than half, compared with the 2016 draft. And – as an illustration of the radical approach that Greater Manchester is taking to environmental policy – the city-region is making clear its opposition to fracking.

We have to prove we have enough land available to deliver the homes people need up until 2037. If we don't, we will have less control over the future shape of Greater Manchester, and growth will take place without being properly planned for the benefit of all.

If we get this plan right, we can do it our way and steer development in a way that works for us - delivering the coordinated, strategic improvements we need in the city region.

This plan:

  • sets out how Greater Manchester should develop up until 2037;
  • identifies the amount of new development that will come forward across the 10 districts, in terms of housing, offices, and industry and warehousing, and the main areas in which this will be focused;
  • supports the delivery of key infrastructure, such as transport and utilities;
  • protects the important environmental assets across the city region;
  • allocates sites for employment and housing outside of the existing urban area; and
  • defines a new green belt boundary for Greater Manchester

The draft Greater Manchester Spatial Framework published in 2016 attracted over 27,000 responses. We have taken into account the comments that were made and these, along with new and emerging evidence, have fed into this new draft.

The goals are broadly the same – we want to make Greater Manchester a thriving, well-connected city region. A place where everyone is able to enjoy a good quality of life and is given the opportunities to fulfil their potential.

It’s not just our plan for the future, it’s your plan too. We have listened to your feedback from 2016 and put together a new plan that places more emphasis on brownfield development and regeneration, particularly within our urban areas. This approach has helped to reduce the need to use green belt land, which we only want to see being considered as a last resort.

We can’t protect everything because we have to provide the housing and employment opportunities that our residents need, but using green belt land will be the last option considered. Any development will also be dependent on the appropriate transport links and other supporting infrastructure, such as schools and health services, being provided.

This rewritten plan focuses more heavily on the environment. We’ve ensured there is an overall reduction in proposed Green Belt release of more than 50% by removing some areas that had been earmarked for development in the previous plan and giving new green belt protection to other green spaces.

We’re also exploring how we manage flood risk, make the most of our natural resources, and – in line with recommendations coming out of the Mayor’s ‘Green Summit’ – design a Greater Manchester that is healthier, less congested, and more sustainable.

Greater Manchester’s Plan for Homes, Jobs and the Environment, is just one of a number of radical plans designed to ensure the city-region can thrive at a time of national uncertainty.

 

 

Quality jobs

We want everyone in Greater Manchester to have the skills they need to get on in life and reach their full potential, with access to high-quality jobs. As well as this plan, our local industrial strategy, digital strategy, and good employment charter will help us deliver this.

Homes for the future

Alongside this plan, we've developed a housing strategy that will help us deliver the mix of homes needed to make Greater Manchester thrive – homes of different sizes, different prices, in places where people want to live; flourishing communities that are well connected to high quality-jobs, transport links, and other facilities, such as health and education.

Clean air

We all have the right to breathe clean air. Our clean air plan has been put together in recognition that our most polluted roads are causing poor health for too many people in Greater Manchester. Taking action now won’t just make the air cleaner – it will save lives.

Transport for the future

Our transport delivery plan sits closely alongside this plan for homes, jobs and the environment. It identifies the transport infrastructure needed to support movement across the city-region, taking into account current and future demands.

Sustainable places

We’re taking a “brownfield preference” approach to development, making the most of the brownfield (previously developed) land that we have available. And the Mayor’s Town Centre Challenge is helping to make sure that our proud town centres are being revitalised to create thriving, vibrant communities in well-connected places where people want to live.

Infrastructure

We have looked at the major challenges that we believe our existing infrastructure networks will need to respond to and are consulting on a Draft Infrastructure Framework alongside this plan which sets these out. It is our intention to develop an Infrastructure Strategy for Greater Manchester over the next 12 months.

Green City Region

Our vision is to become a carbon-neutral city region by 2038.To meet this target, all new homes and commercial buildings will need to be net zero carbon by 2028.

Why your views matter

Local people are the driving force behind Greater Manchester's success. It's important that you have your say on the future of the place you call home, and help shape its transition into a world-leading city region.

Following this consultation, we will review all the responses we've received and consider how we need to revise the plan in light of what you’ve said. Our current timetable is for a second phase of consultation to take place in autumn 2019, and for a final, agreed plan ready to implement in December 2020. 

A number of events are listed below for different Districts across Greater Manchester. This will be added to as the consultation progresses.

What happens next

Following this consultation, we will review all the responses we receive and consider how we need to review the plan in light of what you’ve said.

Our timetable is:

  • 21 January 2019 – first phase of consultation begins
  • 18 March – first phase of consultation closes
  • Analysis and publication of feedback and responses before second phase of consultation begins
  • Autumn 2019 – second phase of consultation begins
  • March 2020 – planning inspectors check our consultation processes and what we’ve done with the feedback (examination phase)
  • December 2020 – publication of the final plan ready to roll out

Events

Audiences

  • General public
  • Young people
  • Businesses
  • Community, voluntary sector and social enterprises
  • Schools, colleges and universities
  • Academics
  • Public sector partners

Interests

  • Combined Authority
  • Mayor of Greater Manchester
  • Ageing
  • Equalities
  • Culture
  • Digital
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Skills
  • Apprenticeships
  • Finance
  • Investment
  • Green
  • Greater Manchester Spatial Framework