Request to remove Oldham from Places for Everyone scheme to be made

On Wednesday (November 6), the full council met and discussed the motion of revoking the borough from the Places for Everyone (PfE) plan.

The PfE scheme, first proposed in 2016, would see thousands of new homes built across nine of the city-region’s 10 boroughs over the next decade.

Stockport withdrew from the plans back in December 2020.

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The plan is set to define a new green belt boundary for Greater Manchester amid a nationwide undersupply in housing and has proved controversial.

Many in Oldham feel that it would lead to the "destruction" of the green belt.

But now, the council will have to formally request the government to remove the borough from the scheme.

During the meeting, a motion was put forward to make the formal request for Oldham to be revoked from PfE.

READ MORE: Legal challenge against Places For Everyone plans gathering pace

Addressing the meeting, Cllr Elaine Taylor, cabinet member for decent homes, said withdrawing from PfE would increase Oldham's housing target from 680 to 1,049 new homes per year as a result of the government's new housing targets.

Cllr Taylor added: "I do understand that people feel strongly about releasing green belt land for development purposes.

"But if our housing numbers were to increase, we would have no option but to significantly expand the amount of green belt land for development purposes."

READ MORE: Residents divided on proposals for children's homes

She added that Stockport has seen its annual housing targets nearly double and it has conceded that green belt land will need to be give up to meet the targets.

Cllr Taylor said asking the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, to remove Oldham from PfE would "not be legally sound" and would leave the council "susceptible to judicial review".

Leader of the council, Cllr Arooj Shah, added that leaving PfE would lead to "more building in places that we don't want" in the borough.

Cllr Shah said PfE would give the council a way to control housing targets in the borough (Image: New Image Ltd)

Cllr Howard Sykes, leader of the Oldham Liberal Democrats, which proposed the motion earlier this year, said: "The report argues that to write a letter to the Secretary of State would be unlawful. 

"Members should ask themselves how can it be that making a request of a government minister could be considered unlawful? 

"Because the report fails to tell us how. No legislation or legal precedent is cited. 

“So, let’s be really clear, without a proper legal explanation as to how and why it would be unlawful to write to the Secretary of State, the resolutions in this report amount to nothing more than an attempt to unduly influence elected members."

Cllr Sykes challenged the idea that the motion was unlawful (Image: New Image Ltd)

Councillors voted in favour of making the formal request to the government by a majority of 30 to 29.

Following the meeting, Cllr Sykes said: “Liberal Democrats have been against the destruction of our green belt in pursuit of developer profit from day one. 

"When Labour lost control of the council earlier this year, we promised the people of Oldham we would force another vote on this issue and lead the charge to pull out of this scheme in favour of a brownfield first strategy for truly affordable housing. That is what we have done.”

In response, a council spokesperson said: “Places for Everyone is Greater Manchester's plan to ensure the right homes are being developed in the right places across the city region whilst safeguarding our valuable green spaces.

“However, the reality is that the level of housing need in Greater Manchester means there will inevitably be some limited encroachment on to our green belt.

"In Oldham we successfully reduced this from 7.5 per cent of our green belt to just 2.5 per cent by maximising use of brownfield availability in the borough.

“Leaving PfE would be an incredibly risky course of action for Oldham because it means our greenbelt land and other green spaces would no longer benefit from the protections that PfE provides, making it easier for developers to build on them.

“Therefore, officers recommended that we didn't write to the Deputy Prime Minister to ask her to consider a request to withdraw from PfE.

“At Wednesday night's full council meeting this recommendation was rejected and we are now considering next steps.”