Green belt group hails rewrite plan

Save Shaw's Greenbelt group from Oldham in Manchester to protest about the destruction of green fields. Pic shows, at the front, kneeling, Steve Lord.

SAVE Shaw's Greenbelt supporters have given a thumbs up to Andy Burnham's promise to stick to his campaign pledge for a radical rewrite of plans to build on the countryside.

But the group warned that the newly elected Greater Manchester Mayor still needed to do more to embrace protestors' needs.

Mr Burnham has vowed to completely redraw the contentious Greater Manchester Spatial Framework. The draft plan proposes building 225,000 new homes and provide millions of square metres for office and industrial space in Greater Manchester, but has faced widespread negative feedback for building on protected green belt.

In Oldham, the plan requires 13,700 new homes to be built and 700,000 square metres of land to be made available for new factories and warehouses.

Save Shaw Greenbelt spokesman Steve Lord said: "There's much to be welcomed here. We're pleased that a new lead has been identified, and appointed, for the crucial role of rewriting the new blueprint for housing and development over the next twenty years.

"However, the devil is in the detail, and we have a list of things that we'd like the mayor to share with us."

These include:



* Clarity on exactly what methodology will be used to accurately forecast population growth leading to the Housing Needs Assessment.

* A commitment to, and delivery of, an up-to-date and accurate brown field site register for every borough of Greater Manchester.

* An accurate, and public, commitment to how much of the House Building Fund will be used for social and affordable housing.



"If we get answers to these points," said Mr Lord, "I believe that our vision, and argument for an untouched green belt, will take a step nearer reality. But we'd also like to work much more closely with the planners.

Evidence

"We would like a commitment from the Mayor for our overseeing group Save Greater Manchester's Green Belt (SGMGB) to regularly meet the combined authority team to share new evidence and explain our views.

"And more importantly, for them to show a willingness to change course when the group's partners provide convincing arguments and evidence.

"We're talking about genuine collaboration here. We firmly believe our protest groups are important stakeholders in this project ... we have to be round that table."

Mr Burnham announced last week that Salford's mayor, Paul Dennett would lead the rewrite. Last month, a rally in Manchester's Albert Square attracted 1,500 protestors against the plans.

SGMGB chairman Steve Longden said: "We're in this for the long term. We're going to maintain the terrific impetus created by the 39 local protest groups we represent, and hope that the new mayor can see just how serious we are about saving our green belt.

"Of course we understand, and have empathy with the need for affordable housing; and of course we understand the need to create new jobs for the future. We have children and grandchildren.

"But these same children, and their parents, need places to walk and run and relax and play... and breathe clean air. That's why we want SGMGB to be an intrinsic part of of the rewrite project."