REVISED DRAFT FOR CONSULTATION - JANUARY 2019 GREATER MANCHESTER’S PLAN FOR HOMES, JOBS AND THE ENVIRONMENT - OVERVIEW GREATER MANCHESTER SPATIAL FRAMEWORK REVISED DRAFT - JANUARY 2019 GREATER MANCHESTER DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY OVERVIEW REVISED DRAFT FOR CONSULTATION - JANUARY 2019 FOREWORD Over the last 20 years, Greater Manchester has Our mission in the next 20 years must be Planning will always be a difficult question of made great strides. to spread prosperity to all parts of Greater striking a balance between creating new homes Manchester, particularly to the North of our city- and jobs and protecting the environment. Parts of our city-region have been transformed. region, ensuring every citizen is able to benefit. But the first consultation revealed a strong On some of the UK’s oldest industrial sites now Put simply, we want a safe, decent and affordable feeling, shared by many, that the right balance stand some of the country’s most modern home and a good job for everyone who lives here, had not been found. buildings and industries. with no-one forced to sleep on the streets. Amongst many views expressed, people said: Manchester City Centre, MediaCityUK, Trafford We want resurgent town centres circling our • the burden of development was excessively Park and the flourishing Airport City, are all vibrant city-centre and a reliable transport weighted towards green sites; engines of the UK economy with Manchester system that connects people to the job, cultural • this site selection would not result in the Airport serving as a gateway to the rest of the and leisure opportunities in both. building of new homes people could afford; world. • it could add pressure on our congested Crucially, we want everyone to have green space transport system, worsening air quality, with Our city was recently named as the “most to enjoy and clean air to breathe. development linked to roads rather than liveable” in the UK. public transport; This is an ambitious vision for the future of • and it was not aligned with other Greater And, on top of all of this, we have in place a Greater Manchester - and this latest version Manchester plans, particularly for transport, devolution deal with the Government which gives of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework housing and other crucial infrastructure. us more freedom to set our own direction. (GMSF) seeks to lay the foundations for it. Since the first version was published, we have As a result, I committed to re-writing the first So now is the right time for pushing forward on listened carefully to what people told us. GMSF and I have done so, working with our 10 our ambitions, set out in the Greater Manchester councils, according to three clear principles: Strategy. • a brownfield-field first approach to the 2 release of sites for development It is important that it is read alongside other But we are reaching the point where • a new priority on town centres for more new policy statements being published today, compromises will have to be agreed and residential development including our plans for clean air, transport and decisions made. Without an agreed plan, • a new drive to protect the existing Green Belt other infrastructure and housing. It also needs our green space will be at greater risk from as far as possible to be seen alongside the Local Plans and Core speculative development. Strategies of our ten councils. This radically-revised GMSF is as much a vision I can assure you that I will continue to listen. But for the environment and quality of life of Greater For instance, Greater Manchester’s new vision I recommend this revised GMSF to you as a plan Manchester as it is for new development. for housing, with an emphasis on building at to keep Greater Manchester moving forward in least 50,000 homes that people can truly afford, the next 20 years with high ambitions for our It cuts the loss of Green Belt by over half, is entirely consistent with the “brownfield-first” people, places and environment. introduces new protections on other green approach set out in the GMSF. spaces and a presumption against fracking in Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester. In everything we do through devolution, we seek It is a prospectus for more sustainable to involve the people of Greater Manchester fully development whilst not diminishing our in our decisions. That is why this plan will be ambitions for growth in housing and subject to a further round of consultation and employment. will ultimately require the approval of all of our Mayor of Greater Manchester councils. 3 OVERVIEW REVISED DRAFT FOR CONSULTATION - JANUARY 2019 INTRODUCTION In this time of national uncertainty, socially and assets. It enables Greater Manchester to meet its environment as for its economic success. Our economically, Greater Manchester is taking local housing need, promotes our new approach Green Belt plays a role in this but there are the initiative to give people, communities to town centres, supports wider strategies around important green spaces, parks, rivers and canals and businesses hope and confidence for the clean air, walking and cycling and underpins our in the heart of our urban communities which are future. The Greater Manchester Strategy sets a ambition to be a carbon neutral city-region by equally valuable. clear vision for Greater Manchester reflecting 2038. that people are at the heart of everything we There are significant challenges. Road congestion do. We are already making great strides in We are striving to become a top global city, with is amongst the most severe in the UK, with implementing this vision but we want to go higher levels of international trade, investment, knock-on impacts on to air quality. The need to further, and faster. That is why we are publishing visitors, and students. We need to continue decarbonise our economy means we need to look a number of bold plans for consultation www. to develop our Research and Development at low carbon energy generation and storage, greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/gmsf that capabilities underpinned by our excellent retrofitting of buildings, and low carbon transport. will shape the future of our city-region for academic institutions as well as investing generations to come. in strengthening existing, and creating new, Economic and population growth will place employment locations so that all parts of Greater significant pressure on our infrastructure, roads, The Greater Manchester Plan for Homes, Jobs Manchester are able to contribute to, and benefit public transport, energy and water as well as and the Environment: the Greater Manchester from growth as part of a thriving Northern schools and hospitals. Future climate change Spatial Framework Revised Draft 2019 (revised Powerhouse. Town centres are critical to this pressures will also require the city-region to adapt Draft GMSF) has been re-written to reinforce our success and we’re working to improve them to bigger shocks and stresses, such as increased ambition to bring forward brownfield land, reduce so that they become quality places to live and heat, drought and flood risk, which may require the net loss of Green Belt and provide stronger work. It is our aspiration that Greater Manchester new sources of funding to be identified. protection for our important environmental becomes as well known for the quality of its The Greater Manchester Plan for Homes, Jobs 4 and the Environment: the Greater Manchester Three informal consultations have already taken housing for local people Spatial Framework Revised Draft 2019 is our plan place. The first, in November 2014 was on the • Employment sites were primarily for low to manage growth so that Greater Manchester is scope of the plan and our initial evidence base, density, low value warehousing a better place to live, work and visit. It will; the second in November 2015, was on the vision, • No account had been taken of the • set out how Greater Manchester should strategy and strategic growth options, and the infrastructure implications of new develop over the next two decades up to the third, on a Draft Plan in October 2016. development year 2037; • identify the amount of new development that RESPONDING TO THE 2016 CONSULTATION The Greater Manchester Spatial Framework: will come forward across the 10 districts, in Revised Draft 2019 seeks to address these terms of housing, offices, and industry and The 2016 consultation attracted over 27,000 concerns in the following ways. warehousing, and the main areas in which this responses. We have been analysing these will be focused; responses and taking into account the comments More efficient use of land. • protect the important environmental assets made, new and emerging evidence and the very across the conurbation; different political climate we find ourselves in. As part of this consultation we are being as • allocate sites for employment and housing transparent as possible about the land we have outside of the urban area; The main concerns were: identified within the urban area. We published our • support the delivery of key infrastructure, such • Green Belt land was being released when Brownfield Registers in December 2017 and our as transport and utilities; there was a lot of brownfield land that could full land supply in March. An updated land supply • define a new Green Belt boundary for Greater be used instead. position is published alongside this consultation Manchester. • Too much Green Belt was being proposed for (LINK). development • The Green Belt sites would not be providing 5 OVERVIEW REVISED DRAFT FOR CONSULTATION - JANUARY 2019 The majority of development over the plan period announced Future High Street Fund could play an Net loss of Green Belt will be on land within the urban area, most of important role in underpinning the contribution of The overwhelming majority of responses related which is brownfield land.