Places for Everyone (PfE) is a joint development plan between the districts of Greater Manchester (with the exception of Stockport), and is the successor to the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework. Between 2021 and 2037, PfE proposes to build 165,000 homes, including nearly 30,000 homes on the Green Belt, across Greater Manchester. It will also make approximately 2 million square metres of Green Belt available for industrial purposes and warehousing. 

Our campaign has been phenomenally successful. We have succeeded in having all of the allocations removed from Thornham (saving Tandle Hill and Hanging Chadder in the process). The only Green Belt Royton now stands to lose is the southern portion of Beal Valley, that extends from Shaw into Royton South. We also stand to lose the protected open land at Royton Moss, which is part of the larger allocation at Broadbent Moss. 

Despite our success we still stand to see a lot of development on the Green Belt on Royton's border: over 1,900 homes in total will be built on Beal Valley and Broadbent Moss, along with a further 460 homes on Cowlishaw, which is situated behing the golf club. The Stakehill complex will be extended, which will see Chadderton Fold sacrificed to warehousing and another 1,700 homes built on Thornham Fold. In total, around 4,000 homes will be built on the outskirts of Royton, and that is in addition to the building that will continue on the brownfield. For context that will be more homes than the entirety of Royton North. It will place an insurmountable strain on our roads, drains, schools and doctors. You can view the plans in more detail here.

What happens now?

The plan was passed for a Regulation 19 consultation commencing the 9th August, and the consultation will end the 3rd October. This will be our last opportunity to shape the plan. In the New Year the plan will be called in by the Secretary of State who will schedule an Examination in Public. The plan will be examined by a Government Inspector for legal compliance and "soundness". Members of the public are permitted to participate in the examination, but only if you have made a formal submission to the Regulation 19 consultation, and stipulate your intention to participate in the public examination.

During the examination the Planning Inspector may remove or alter allocations on the Green Belt if considered unsound or not legally compliant. Likewise, a developer may appeal to have an allocation restored to the plan, and the Inspector has the power to do this. If the plan is eventually passed, the new Green Belt boundaries will be redrawn under law.

How to appeal

You have until the 3rd October to submit an appeal. The easiest way to appeal is to use the GMCA's online consultation portal.  The GMCA also provide a Word template if you would prefer to submit a response via email or post:

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

Besides legal compliance, the plan will be assessed against the four Tests of Soundness: 

Is the plan Postively prepared?

• Does the plan, as a minimum, provide a strategy which seeks to meet objectively assessed needs?

Is the plan Justified?

• Does the plan propose an appropriate strategy, taking into account the reasonable alternatives, and based on proportionate evidence?

Is the plan Consistent with national policy?

• Does the plan should enable the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and other statements of national planning policy?

Is the plan Effective?

• Is the plan deliverable over the plan period?

You can ONLY challenge the plan under legal compliance and soundness. Any response that falls outside of these criteria will be discounted. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO RESPOND TO EVERY SINGLE POLICY. You can just appeal the allocations that you feel the most strongly about.

The GMCA provide some further useful links:

• Places for Everyone joint development plan - main document 09-08-21 (PDF, 28MB)
• What makes an effective representation? (PDF, 144KB) – download this presentation to see what makes an effective response to this consultation.
• Main link for Places for Everyone – Supporting documents, FAQ etc.

This plan is 466 pages long, and there are 437 supporting documents in total. Are you guys having a laugh?

Swamping people with a ton of irrelevant and technical information is just a cynical ploy used by the councils to try and deter people from responding. We suggest that you at least read the allocation policy of whichever allocation you are appealing. These are roughly 3–4 pages long for each allocation and can be found in the main document. The Oldham section starts on page 276.

Along with other groups campaigning against Green Belt development, Save Royton's Greenbelt has engaged the services of Leith Planning Group. They will be appealing against PfE at the policy level; however, these people sit behind a desk most of the day and have probably never been to Royton, so your appeals would be best served by gathering local intelligence.

One thing you can do is to go to our Plans page and select the Land Supply mode from the navigation box. We know that the council is trying to suppress brownfield from coming forward so they can release Green Belt, and to this end are trying to get conservation orders put on mills. If you know of an old mill (or any other sizeable brownfield) that does not show up in Oldham's land supply then include that in your appeal. You can challenge the release of Green Belt on the basis that it is not consistent with national policy because Oldham has not fully documented its brownfield supply.

The plan has more holes in it than swiss cheese, but unfortunately the plan is examined under the "presumption of soundness". That means the onus is on the appellant to prove it is unsound. This consultation is effectively your last chance to do that, and you have until the 3rd October.

Good luck, and if you have any questions please contact us through the contact form on the website.