Ambitious plans to revitalise town centres, create new homes and enhance natural assets in Greater Manchester have been unveiled.
The Places for Everyone proposals of nine of the region's districts have been published ahead of a meeting on July 20 before being scrutinised by elected members across Greater Manchester. The aim will be to bring the plan to public consultation in August.
Places for Everyone, the plans by Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan councils, will determine the kind of development that takes place across the city-region, "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 joined by new infrastructure.
The plan is the result of a process that began with the publication of the first Greater Manchester Spatial Framework in 2016, and the feedback received from residents, businesses and community organisations.
Since then, work has been carried out to reduce the number of proposed sites and the amount of green belt take within sites, and to propose new green belt additions – the result being a 60% reduction in the impact on green belt land compared to the 2016 plan.
A total of 90% of housing allocations in the new plan are in urban areas. Greater Manchester has already committed £97m from the Government’s Brownfield Housing Fund to unlock brownfield sites for development.
In total, 57 schemes have been identified to benefit from two tranches of the funding allocation, and a minimum of 5,500 homes on brownfield will be delivered through this funding, including more than 2,000 affordable homes.
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Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: "Greater Manchester is setting out a clear and ambitious vision for new homes, enhanced green spaces and revitalised town centres.
"Linked to our plans for a zero-carbon future and good jobs and growth, this vision represents a major milestone as our city-region maps out its recovery from the pandemic.
"If we want to build back from the pandemic in a way that brings everyone with us and strikes at the root of inequality, we need a plan that strengthens our economy and our society against future challenges, and puts us in the best position to take advantage of new opportunities.
"We are already using our unique devolved powers and transforming our towns and cities so that they’re fit for the future.
"Through the pioneering Mayoral Development Corporation in Stockport and Oldham’s Mills Strategy, work is well under way to transform our urban centres by delivering good quality homes, sustainable public transport, and regeneration of the kind that will genuinely ‘level up’ our places.
"By building more low-carbon homes and equipping people with new retrofitting skills, we can also help to meet our goal of carbon neutrality by 2038 and lay the foundations for investment in green industry and innovation.
"We can no longer accept that the car is always king, and Places for Everyone will set out where inclusive growth can take place in areas well connected by an accessible, affordable, high-quality public transport infrastructure – our Bee Network.
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"We all share the same priorities: we want to see better homes, better jobs, and better transport for everyone in our city-region.
"Everything we do is driven by that vision, and whether through Places for Everyone or other projects like the Homelessness Prevention Strategy and our plans for a world-class integrated transport network, we will continue to work together right across Greater Manchester to create a place where we can all succeed."
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Mayor Paul Dennett, City Mayor of Salford and GMCA lead for housing and homelessness, added: "Now is the time to be moving forward with an ambitious vision for a recovery focused on delivering good-quality affordable homes, creating good jobs, and boosting our transition to a low-carbon economy.
"This is the right thing to do– not just to drive our economic recovery from the pandemic, but to empower the work we’re doing to tackle inequalities and build a better future for everyone in Greater Manchester.
"We are absolutely committed to sustainable development that makes the best possible use of space and protects our places from the threat of unplanned development.
"Ninety per cent of the new homes in this plan will be located across urban areas, meaning growth can happen in places where we want it, and not be dictated by planning appeals.
"Through close cooperation and collaboration with Stockport, and by working together to share expertise and resources, we can support economic growth, bring in new investment, and promote sustainable development in all areas of Greater Manchester."