​Bury publishes its proposals for homes, jobs and the environment

Bury Council has put forward its final draft proposals for the Greater Manchester’s plan for homes, jobs, and the environment – the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework.

This is also Bury’s long term plan for homes, jobs, and the environment and it complements a number of significant and supporting strategies in both Bury and Greater Manchester currently being considered. These include:

• The GMSF
• Bury’s 2030 strategy
• Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone
• Bury’s housing strategy
• Transport for Greater Manchester 2040 strategy and implementation plan
• Minimum licensing standards for taxis and private hire vehicle in Greater Manchester

The GMSF shows where new homes should be built, which land should be used for new and expanding businesses and it shows how those developments will be served by transport links and social infrastructure such as schools and health services.

It includes the Northern Gateway site which will help to create up to 20,000 new jobs. This site, which sits in both Bury and Rochdale boroughs north of the M62 and east of the M66, will be the largest new employment site in the North of England and it will be home to advanced manufacturing companies, logistics and other manufacturing.

The “Publication GMSF” proposes a net reduction of the green belt in Bury by 520 hectares.

This is 9% of the total green belt land in Bury and 25% less green belt lost compared to the 2019 draft (which proposed 714 hectares of green belt loss). The 2016 draft proposed the loss of 1,200 hectares of green belt land, which means an overall 57% reduction in green belt loss since the first draft.

Most of the reduction in green belt is for the Northern Gateway employment site, at 310 hectares. A further 287 hectares green belt is proposed to be released for housing sites. An additional 78 hectares is proposed to be added as green belt, making a total net loss of 520 hectares.

Bury Council has been able to cut the green belt loss because other areas of Greater Manchester have agreed to take around 2,500 homes from the borough. This has meant Bury has to build only 75% of the target figure set by government.

Housing is primarily focused on three major sites. These have been chosen because they connect well with the existing urban area and because they are large enough for developers fund the roads, Metrolink stop, schools and other infrastructure needed.

The sites are:

• Elton reservoir, 3,500 homes
• Walshaw, 1,250 new homes
• Simister / Bowlee, 1,350 new homes

A further 200 new homes are planned for Castle Road, Unsworth, and 140 new homes for Seedfield.

Sites removed from the latest draft plan are:

• Whitefield, which had previously been proposed for 600 homes
• Simister / Bowlee site – proposals reduced by 700 homes

Existing planning permissions and “brownfield” sites will provide enough land for around 4,000 new homes, but there remains a shortfall to reach the target set by government.

Like many council areas in England, Bury has no option other than to release green belt land to meet housing need.

Bury Council leader Eamonn O’Brien said: “Two previous rounds of consultation on the GMSF have taken place in 2016 and 2019 and now it is time to submit our final draft to the government.

“This is Bury’s opportunity, with our Greater Manchester neighbours, to create the right long-term plan for our future prosperity, to build new homes for our families in sustainable and viable locations, and to make available the sites our businesses need to thrive.

“The GMSF is a realistic plan that is supported by a suite of other strategies locally at Greater Manchester level that will allow us to plan for a future that is more sustainable, more economically prosperous and which meets the needs of current and future generations.

“We have listened to the many views local people, businesses and community organisations gave to us last year on the GMSF and we have made significant changes as a result.

“Because this is a Greater Manchester plan we have been able to negotiate for other parts of the conurbation to take 2,500 of Bury’s housing target.

“That means the amount of green belt land we propose to release has been reduced from 12% to 9% and we are able to ensure that any development must deliver the significant improvements in local community infrastructure, including road links, a new tram stop and several new schools before they can be approved.

“However, it is simply not possible to build the numbers of new homes that we have to plan for, or to provide a game-changing employment site like Northern Gateway, without releasing some of the green belt.

“We also need to be clear that Bury benefits from its place in the GMSF and that the alternatives would be worse for the whole borough.

“If Bury was not part of the GMSF we would risk a developer free-for-all, many more houses built, a much greater loss of green belt and none of the transport and community infrastructure that we can bring with this plan.”

Bury’s Cabinet will be asked to approve the GMSF for consultation on 11 November and the full council will be asked on 25 November to approve it to be submitted to government following consultation.

If approved, the consultation will run from 1 December to 26 January.

To register for updates and to take part in the consultation https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/gmsf2020

You can also sign up for local Bury updates on Bury Council’s One Community website https://www.onecommunitybury.co.uk/

Full details of Bury’s proposals are published on the council website https://www.bury.gov.uk/gmsf