Graham Stringer
Main Page: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Middleton South) Greater Manchester Spatial Framework
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William Wragg
The hon. Lady’s point is entirely correct. My concern is that the combined authority’s housing target will become an exceptional circumstance, as it appears to think.
Graham Stringer
The hon. Gentleman is being very generous. On the allocation of green-belt land for housing, does he agree that the figure is dependent on an assessment of the pipeline of brownfield sites, which has always been underestimated?
William Wragg
The hon. Gentleman is entirely correct. Again, he alludes to something that I will address in my remarks. He is spot on.
If the homes in Stockport are realised, they will account for only two thirds of Stockport’s overall target, so I fear this is likely to be the thin end of the wedge. Last night, my hon. Friends the Members for Cheadle and for Bury North (Mr Nuttall) presented petitions on behalf of thousands of our constituents who oppose the massive-scale development on the green belt and who want to prioritise building on brownfield land.
The voices not only from my constituency but from neighbouring constituencies, as evidenced by the attendance in Westminster Hall this afternoon, show a clear concern that the green belt should be protected. Green belt is easily the best loved and understood British planning policy, and it is hugely valued. It has been a long-standing commitment of Governments of all colours that redevelopment and reuse of land in urban areas—so-called brownfield sites—should take priority over greenfield sites, and rightly so for a number of reasons. First, it protects the countryside and provides the benefits of green spaces and access to nature and recreation.
On regeneration, we need to get people living in town centres again. Our cities are thriving, but medium and large towns are being neglected. Such depopulation leads to further decline and creates a vicious cycle, as I fear has been witnessed in Stockport. However, Manchester, to its credit, has made great strides. The green belt encourages the regeneration of our towns and the best use of our land.