H igh Lane, a village on the outskirts of Stockport , is an attractive place to live – close to plenty of green space with the beauty of the Peak District on the doorstep, but with the prospering city of Manchester within easy reach. An ideal place, some might say, to build some of the Labour government’s promised 1.5m new houses.
But in 2020 Stockport council voted against the proposed Greater Manchester spatial planning framework put forward by Andy Burnham’s Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). The rebellion came from Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors objecting to green belt development in High Lane and elsewhere in the borough. In this village, residents thought the battle against further development was won.
But now, with a new government making bold pledges to tackle the housing crisis , the sands are shifting again. The king’s speech on Wednesday is expected to include more than 30 bills including a housebuilding bill that will set out the new government’s bold housing plans. In her first speech as chancellor, Rachel Reeves promised sweeping reforms to the planning system, including mandatory housebuilding targets of 1.
5m homes over five years, with a brownfield and “grey belt” first approach to development. Labour coined the term “grey belt” to describe the poor-quality or ugly land that makes up part of the green belt, such as wasteland and disused car parks. However, critics have said the term needs to be clearly defined – an.
