More than 55 councils drop mandatory housing targets but Oldham sticks to controversial housing plan

Oldham’s Labour Administration has been criticised for “failing to stand up for Oldham” after they stood by controversial plans to build housing on local Green Belt sites, despite more than 55 other Council’s deciding to drop or review housing targets according to the local government press.

Responding to the disappointing news, the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Opposition Group Councillor Howard Sykes MBE said: “The government have removed the mandatory housing targets that the Greater Manchester-wide housing strategy was based on.  Labour have always said they didn’t want to build on the Green Belt and green spaces, but they were forced to by the government Yet now they are given a free hand, they have chosen not to change their policy.  Time and time again, I have called on Oldham’s Labour leaders to do precisely what more than 55 other councils are doing and rethink their housing strategy.”

“In March, Liberal Democrats called for Oldham to withdraw from these deeply unpopular, Greater Manchester-wide plans but Labour councillors refused to stand up to their bosses.  They refused to stand up for Oldham.”

Labour members voted against a Liberal Democrat motion which would have removed Oldham Borough from ‘Places for Everyone’, the scheme initiated by the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, which allocates Green Belt and green spaces for housing and industrial development. 

Councillor Sykes said, “Time and time again, it is the Liberal Democrats fighting for the interests of the people of Oldham.  We would tackle the housing crisis by building affordable housing on Oldham’s many brownfield and ex-industrial sites, and by bringing empty homes back into use.  Not by building expensive luxury housing on green spaces, which only helps boosts the profits of greedy developers.”