Places for Everyone is a long-term plan of nine Greater Manchester districts (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan) for jobs, new homes, and sustainable growth. It has been published by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority on behalf of the nine districts.

The plan is a joint development plan of the nine districts which will determine the kind of development that takes place in their boroughs and is the result of a process that began as the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) in 2014, and has been informed by the feedback received from residents, businesses and the development industry to previous consultations on that Plan. The nine districts decided to continue to produce a joint plan following the withdrawal of Stockport Council from the GMSF.

The GMCA has now published its final plan that it wants to submit to the Secretary of State.

This plan:

• sets out how the nine boroughs should develop up until 2037;
• identifies the amount of new development that will come forward across the 9 districts, in terms of housing, offices, and industry and warehousing, and the main areas in which this will be focused;
• supports the delivery of key infrastructure, such as transport and utilities;
• protects the important environmental assets across the city region;
• allocates sites for employment and housing outside of the existing urban area; and
• defines a new Green Belt boundary for Greater Manchester

There was a public consultation on this plan and Barbara submitted a comprehensive response because this plan proposes removing greenbelt status from four areas in Worsley & Eccles South.

Barbara submitted responses on the vision, the strategic objectives and the strategy on Port Salford. There were also comments on the sustainable and resilient places, greener places and on the importance of lowland and mosslands, urban green space and the green belt

Barbara submitted a full response to the proposed changes in Worsley & Eccles South and you can see this below.

Barbara does support the proposed additions to the green belt in Worsley & Eccles South, as suggested in this plan.

Barbara says:

“Green Belt land is precious in Salford as it provides the green lungs for an urban city. It is vital that these green spaces are preserved in a city that has high levels of air pollution, low levels of physical activity and poor health outcomes. I have heard the views of many of my constituents and I know that there is a great deal of anger over the proposals in the Places for Everyone plan to develop local Green Belt land. I agree with my constituents.

“I have real concerns about proposals which earmark substantial areas of Green Belt land for large development and commercial space. This Green Belt land is cherished by local communities and the impact of extra traffic and air pollution, together with the loss of the recreation space brought about by new developments, will be damaging to the people of Salford.

“I oppose any loss of Green Belt land in my constituency.  Salford has enough Brownfield sites to satisfy the housing need outlined in the Places for Everyone plan. Releasing this Green Belt land is a short-sighted approach which ignores the wishes of local people and the practical issues with worsening traffic congestion and overstretched rail services.   

“I hope that the Greater Manchester Combined Authorities will listen to the concerns raised by me, by other Greater Manchester MPs and by local residents and remove these allocations from the revised Framework.“