Places for Everyone plan for 175,000 homes goes to final stage following inspectors’ report

The Places for Everyone plan for new homes and jobs in Greater Manchester has reached its final stage, following a report by planning inspectors.

In their report, published earlier this month, the inspectors have concluded that the plan, with the modifications recommended as part of their independent examination process, is sound and legally compliant.

The publication of the report marks the end of the examination process, which included public hearings and consultations between November 2022 and December 2023.

Places for Everyone will now be presented to each of the nine councils to consider the recommendations and whether to adopt the plan in line with Government’s expectations for a plan-led approach to development, which is in line with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

Places for Everyone is a long-term plan of nine districts in the city-region: Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan.

It is a comprehensive joint development plan of the districts that will determine the kind of development that takes place in their boroughs, maximising the use of brownfield land and urban spaces while protecting Green Belt land from the risk of unplanned development.

It will also ensure all new developments are sustainably integrated into Greater Manchester’s transport network or supported by new infrastructure.

The plan’s predecessor, the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, went through several rounds of consultation before Stockport council pulled out in 2020, leaving the other nine boroughs in the region to come up with a new one.

The revised plan, which was subject to months of public hearings, would see more than 2,000 hectares of land taken out of the green belt.