Green belt grab defeated: Oldham councillors back Liberal Democrat motion to request to leave controversial housing plan PfE

Oldham councillors have voted to write to Secretary of State for Housing Angela Rayner MP requesting that Oldham be removed from the controversial Greater Manchester-wide development scheme – Places for Everyone (PfE).

The Liberal Democrat Group’s proposal passed by 31 votes to 28, meaning the Council’s leadership must now formally request that Oldham is removed from Places for Everyone.

Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE said, “The view of Oldham councillors is very clear.  Places for Everyone has now been rejected in the council chamber twice, by democratic vote.  The Council’s leadership must now write to the government asking for Oldham to be removed from this plan which would see our green spaces lost in pursuit of developer profit.”

Places for Everyone is the city region-wide housing strategy which has been spearheaded by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and which was formally adopted by each of the Labour controlled Greater Manchester councils.  Liberal Democrat controlled Stockport never signed up.  The plan is controversial for its use of green belt land and because it is based on housing projections that are now a decade old.

Councillor Sykes said, “The people we represent have never supported a plan that was drawn up in Manchester city centre without any regard to Oldham’s local wishes or needs.

“I’m proud that the Liberal Democrats have consistently fought against this approach in favour of a brownfield first plan to deliver affordable housing in places people actually want to live.

“It is because politicians of different parties and none chose to work together that we have now managed to defeat the ruling Labour Group on this issue twice.  Labour have used every trick in the book to avoid writing to the Secretary of State, even insisting on a second vote when they didn’t like the outcome of the first.  Well, we have given it to them.  Now it is time for them to get on with writing that letter formally requesting that Oldham is removed from Places for Everyone.”