Setting out the shape and ambitions of Bury

Bury Council has reached another key milestone in preparing a new Local Plan that will help shape the future of all our six towns and communities, guiding how communities grow, develop and thrive over the coming decades.

The Government requires all local councils to produce long-term plans for their areas and the Local Plan will sit alongside the adopted Places for Everyone Joint Plan as a key document used to guide and manage future development and planning applications in Bury.

The Local Plan will help make sure that future growth remains connected to the communities that make Bury distinctive, supporting new homes, jobs and infrastructure while protecting the character and identity of places people know and value.

Some of the major strategic decisions relating to Bury’s future growth and development have already been made through the Places for Everyone Joint Plan, including the identification of future needs for new housing and business floorspace and the identification of several strategic sites required to meet these needs.

Bury’s new Local Plan will provide a more detailed set of locally specific planning policies to complement the Places for Everyone Plan. The Local Plan provides the framework for making sure investment delivers places where people want to live, work and spend time, creating sustainable communities across the borough.

These policies are designed to ensure that new developments respond to a range of planning issues, including:

• Meeting our housing needs;
• Delivering economic growth;
• Supporting our centres;
• Promoting tourism and culture;
• Creating healthy and successful communities;
• Promoting sustainable transport;
• Conserving the built environment and achieving high quality design;
• Conserving and enhancing our green infrastructure;
• Improving access to quality open space, sport and recreation;
• Protecting the Green Belt;
• Managing water and flood risk;
• Addressing air quality, pollution and hazards;
• Delivering other infrastructure; and
• Development management.

Following consultation on a first draft of the Local Plan last year, the Council has taken into account all of the comments received and, where necessary, has fed amendments into the latest version – known as the Publication Local Plan.

The Publication Local Plan was approved by the Council’s Cabinet on 30 June and will be subject to a further eight-week period of consultation running from 17 July to 11 September.

The Council’s Leader, Eamon O’Brien said that "The publication of Bury's Local Plan is a major milestone for the borough and for all six of our towns.

"The plan sets out how we will deliver the homes, jobs and infrastructure our communities need, while ensuring growth builds on the identity and character of the places people value most.

The Local Plan is an extremely important document that will, alongside existing policies in the Places for Everyone Joint Plan, provide a strong policy basis to assess planning applications in the borough

"Bury is already delivering regeneration and investment at pace, and this plan will help make sure that future development creates places that people recognise, use and feel part of. It's about supporting opportunity while keeping growth connected to real communities."

Subject to Council approval, the Local Plan, supporting documentation and the comments received in response to consultation on the Publication Plan will then be submitted to the Secretary of State. The Government will then appoint an independent Planning Inspector to undertake an examination of the Local Plan to determine whether it is appropriate.

The plan and how to feedback can be found here:

https://www.bury.gov.uk/planni...