Consultation starts on Places for Everyone plan

Formal consultation on the Greater Manchester plan for housing, jobs and the environment has started.

Every household in the borough of Bury will shortly receive a letter about the Places for Everyone proposals, with details of what it means for their local neighbourhood and how they can view and comment on the plans. The consultation period lasts until 3 October.

Places for Everyone is the successor to the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, and aims to identify the amount of new housing, office, industrial and warehousing development needed up to 2037 and the key sites where this will take place.

It will also identify the infrastructure needed to support new development, such as transport, schools and healthcare; identify the important environmental assets which will be protected and enhanced; and define a new green belt boundary for the nine Greater Manchester boroughs taking part in the plan.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, leader of Bury Council, said: “Places for Everyone is a hugely significant document that will shape the future of Bury for many years to come.

“This is why - and for the second time – we are writing to every household in the borough to inform them of the plans and how they can have their say.”

How can you find out more about Places for Everyone?

The Places for Everyone plan, plus supporting documents and background evidence, is on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority website at www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/placesforeveryone.

Further information is also available on the council’s website at www.bury.gov.uk/placesforeveryone. This includes a series of Frequently Asked Questions which highlight the main implications of the plan for Bury.

If you cannot access this information online, please call our Places for Everyone answerphone service on 0161 253 7800, where you can leave your name and telephone number and someone will return your call.

Hard copies of Places for Everyone will be available for inspection at Bury Town Hall reception; at Ramsbottom, Bury, Radcliffe and Prestwich libraries; and at the Tottington Centre during their normal opening hours.

How can you have your say on Places for Everyone?

The plan is at its ‘publication stage’ and is the version of the plan that the nine participating local authorities intend to submit to the Government. People are being asked whether they think the plan has been prepared in accordance with legal and procedural requirements and meets the four ‘tests of soundness’ (as set out here: paragraph 35 of the National Planning Policy Framework).

All comments on the Publication version of the plan should be made to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Comments can be made via the online response form at www.gmconsult.org. Alternatively, you can download the response form available on the GMCA website and email it to placesforeveryone@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk.

You can also submit your comments by:

• Emailing placesforeveryone@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk
• Writing to: The Planning and Housing Team, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Broadhurst House, 56 Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 6EU.

What happens next?

Once the period for making representations ends on 3 October, it is intended to submit the Publication version of Places for Everyone to the Government alongside all supporting evidence and comments made. Please note that it will only be comments that are made on this version of the plan that will be submitted to the Government.

The Government will then appoint a Planning Inspector to undertake an Examination of the plan. Their job is to examine whether the submitted plan meets the ‘tests of soundness’ and all the relevant legislative requirements.

ENDS

Press release issued: 10 August 2021.