Greater Manchester Spatial Framework and the Green Belt Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities
James Grundy
Main Page: James Grundy (Conservative - Leigh)Department Debates - View all James Grundy's debates with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities
Greater Manchester Spatial Framework and the Green Belt
James Grundy Excerpts(4 years, 1 month ago)
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James Grundy (Leigh) (Con)
I have grave concerns about how my own local authority, Wigan Council, has conducted itself during the Greater Manchester spatial framework process. When the plan’s first draft was announced, many local farmers and landowners were surprised to find that their land was earmarked for development. They had not put forward their land during the “call for sites” process. They had not even been consulted on whether their land should have been included in these plans.
When the landowners attended a public information event to protest the lack of consultation, they were told initially that, should they refuse to sell, the council would rely on the use of compulsory purchase powers to obtain the land. Following a public backlash against this approach, both the leader of Wigan Council and Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, stated that they would not using compulsory purchase powers after all.
The council has still not removed all these sites from the plans, however, which raises two issues: first, the deliverability of these sites and secondly, housing supply if these sites are allocated but not deliverable. Wigan Council’s approach towards the GMSF has generated an unworkable plan because of the lack of due diligence in ensuring site availability, a lack of consultation with the affected landowners, and an unwillingness to compromise when this was highlighted. I hope that measures can be put in place to ensure that this situation does not arise again.