The report of the Strategic Director Growth and Development is enclosed.

A report submitted by the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) sought approval for the consultation on the publication stage of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) pursuant to Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

The Greater Manchester Spatial Framework Publication Plan 2020 (GMSF 2020) is the city region’s plan to manage growth so that Greater Manchester is a better place to live, work and visit. It will:

•              set out how Greater Manchester should develop up to the year 2037;

•              identify the amount of new development that will come forward across the ten individual local authority districts, in terms of housing, offices, and industry and warehousing, and the main areas in which this will be focused;

•              identify the important environmental assets across the conurbation which will be protected and enhanced;

•              allocate sites for employment and housing outside of the urban area;

•              support the delivery of key infrastructure, such as transport and utilities; and

•              define a new Green Belt boundary for Greater Manchester.

Work on this plan had begun in 2014. Over the course of 2014/15, the 10 authorities secured the approvals required to enable the GMSF to be prepared. The first draft of the GMSF Joint Development Plan was published for consultation on 31st October 2016. A further consultation on the Revised Draft GMSF then took place between January and March 2019. Over 17,000 responses were received. Since that consultation closed, work had been underway across the GM area to analyse the responses and a consultation summary report was published in October 2019.

The next stage in the development of the plan would be the Publication Draft. The ‘Publication stage’ is a formal consultation on the draft joint Development Plan pursuant to Reg. 19 of the Local Planning Regulations. It is a statutory stage that provides an opportunity for organisations and individuals to submit their final views on the content of the plan.

The consent of Manchester to the publication was given, and the necessary authorities were delegated to allow minor changes to be made to the documents up to their final publication.

Decisions

1.         To approve the GMSF: Publication Draft 2020, including strategic site allocations and green belt boundary amendments, and reference to the potential use of compulsory purchase powers to assist with site assembly, and the supporting background documents, for publication pursuant to Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 for a period for representations between 1 December 2020 and 26 January 2021.

2.         To recommend that Council approves the GMSF: Publication Draft 2020 for submission to the Secretary of State for examination following the period for representations.

3.         To delegate to the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) authority to approve the relevant Statement of Common Ground(s) required pursuant to the National Planning Policy Framework 2019.

4.         To delegate authority to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Executive Member for Executive member for Environment, Planning and Transport to make minor or non-material amendments to the Publication Draft 2020 and background documents prior to their publication.

5.         To delegate authority to the Lead Greater Manchester Chief Executive for Housing, Homelessness and Infrastructure, in consultation with the GM Portfolio Holder for Housing, Homelessness and Infrastructure, to make any final or non-material changes to the GMSF or background documents prior to their publication.