A rift has emerged among town hall chiefs and new mayor Andy Burnham over how quickly to plough ahead with the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF)
Greater Manchester’s controversial 20-year development masterplan could be delayed by well over a year so council bosses can go back to the drawing board.
A rift has emerged among town hall chiefs and new mayor Andy Burnham over how quickly to plough ahead with the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF).
Officials are eyeing up a major rewrite fallowing of Mr Burnham’s manifesto pledges and public concern over green belt.
One option now under discussion is to aim for it to come into force in Spring 2020, considerably later than the December 2018 date originally intended.
But some council bosses are opposed to the delay, believing it will harm investor confidence in the region.
The GMSF - the region’s long term development blueprint - caused a storm when it was unveiled in draft form last year due to the dozens of greenfield and green belt sites earmarked for new housing and businesses.
Council chiefs now believe it was not clear enough in its vision, while also accepting some green sites will need to be removed due to public opposition.
(source: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/greater-manchesters-controversial-housing-masterplan-13288112) A private meeting of combined authority leaders last week saw three new potential timetables put forward for the plan so it can be rewritten. One option would involve consulting on a new draft this autumn, a couple of months later than originally planned, before submitting to government a year later in the hope of adopting it in September 2019.