Places for Everyone is a long-term plan of nine Greater Manchester districts that aims to implement new homes, job opportunities and sustainable growth, maximising the use of brownfield land and urban spaces, all whilst protecting Green Belt land from unplanned development.
The districts that have been chosen for this scheme include Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan. One major way of including these boroughs in Manchester’s future progressions are by supporting sustainably integrated transport network supported by new infrastructure.
Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett, the Chair of the Places for Everyone and GMCA Lead for Housing, Planning and Homelessness commented on the scheme: “Places for Everyone underpins a wider vision for Greater Manchester that will put us on the best possible footing to face the challenges of the future,”
Initially, the process began as the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) back in 2014but has been reworked throughout the years by informed feedback received by residents, businesses, and development professionals.
The scheme is planned to support the chosen boroughs up until 2037 and identifies new chosen development best suited for the areas such as new housing, offices, warehousing solutions, and the delivery of key infrastructure such as transport and utilities.
An important aspect of these plans come in the form of keeping sustainable and protecting environmental assets across the region. This follows the steps of Manchester’s plans of decarbonisation across the region and implementation of cycling hubs throughout the city in hopes to redefine its environmental impact over the next few years.
“[Places for Everyone] will mean we decide what kind of development takes place and where, maximising the use of brownfield land and urban spaces while protecting green belt land from the risk of unplanned development,” Dennett continued. “It will benefit our places and helps us recover from the pandemic, tackle housing inequality, and pave the way for a low-carbon economy.”
During2022, planning inspectors are checking out consultation processes and examining feedback with hopes of the council producing a publication holding the final plan ready to roll out sometime in 2023.
Recently, a transportation plan involving Tameside was unveiled, which would connect Stalybridge to Manchester with an implemented network that would significantly reduce train times within the area. This network would also connect to Leeds, expanding the region and reducing times from over a house hour down to 40minutes. This plan is expected to beat the current HS2 expected completion date by implementing the network by 2025.
