Liberal Democrats to force no-overall-control Oldham Council to vote again on ‘Places for Everyone’

Oldham Liberal Democrats will force a vote on whether Oldham Council should withdraw from the controversial Greater Manchester-wide housing scheme ‘Places for Everyone’ at the next Full Council meeting on July 10^th.

Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE said, “Places for Everyone will not deliver the affordable housing we need in Oldham.  The scheme will destroy greenbelt sites and hand a blank cheque to developers.  All councillors should vote to begin the process of removing Oldham from this scheme on July 10^th.”

‘Places for Everyone’ is the successor proposal to the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework which was put forward by Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham until Liberal Democrat controlled Stockport removed itself from the plans in 2020, forcing a rebrand.

On Wednesday 10^th July at a meeting of Oldham’s Full Council, the Liberal Democrat Leader will move a motion to withdraw Oldham borough from ‘Places for Everyone’, in the most significant challenge to the Mayor’s housing strategy since Stockport pulled out.

For Oldham, the process of withdrawing from the Greater Manchester-wide scheme will have two parts.  Councillors will first vote to begin the process on July 10^th with a final decision to be made at the next council meeting in December.

Councillor Sykes said, “We need to deliver more affordable and social housing.  But we can do better than a plan that is spearheaded by Andy Burnham and drawn up in Manchester city centre.  Oldham Borough deserves a true local plan that protects green spaces and makes use of brownfield and ex-industrial heritage buildings.

“We promised before the local elections that removing Oldham from ‘Places for Everyone’ and protecting our greenbelt would be a top priority for the Liberal Democrats.  We aim to keep that promise by forcing the Council to vote again on the scheme at the earliest opportunity available to us.”