Cllr Brenda Warrington writes about Tameside being committed to securing a better, fairer and greener future for all our residents in her Reporter column.

As part of that, we are asking you to have your say on the final draft of the GM Places for Everyone plan.

The plan has been in development since 2014, when it was known as the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF). Following the withdrawal of Stockport from the GMSF, the remaining nine local authorities of Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan have chosen to move forward with this new plan, renamed GM Places for Everyone.

Put simply GM Places for Everyone lays out, in detail, what we want to build in Greater Manchester and where we want to build it from now until 2037.

Ninety per cent of new homes allocated in the plan will be built in existing urban areas, and the impact of the city region’s Green Belt has been reduced by 60 per cent compared to the previous GMSF in 2016.

These new developments will also be integrated into the city region’s transport network and supported by all necessary infrastructure such as schools, doctor’s surgeries and utilities.

In terms of what GM Places for Everyone means for Tameside, we have identified three strategic sites in the borough for growth along with twelve areas that will be added to our existing Green Belt land.

I understand that some of these decisions have proven controversial for many, but the fact remains that if we do not come up with a realistic and deliverable plan to meet housing targets decided by the government, we run the risk of a development free-for-all as somebody else steps in to build for us.

The GM Places for Everyone plan guarantees that any new development in the city region will put the interests of local people first, and protects us from having our future dictated by distant companies that put the interests of their balance sheet first.

The consultation will run until October 3. You can look at the full scope of the plan and give your views online through the GM Consult website at https://www.gmconsult.org/communications-and-engagement-team/pfe/.

You can also e-mail your response to placesforeveryone@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk or by post to: ‘Planning and Housing team, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Broadhurst House, 56 Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 6EU’.

Hard copies of the plan will be available in libraries across Tameside, and if you have any questions that you cannot put into writing then you can leave your name and telephone number on an answerphone at 0161 778 7006 and someone will return your call.

The GM Places for Everyone plan will help set the course for Tameside and the other involved local authorities for decades to come, so it’s really important that we understand what you think and what it means to you.

Every response we get, whether it’s in support, against, neutral or undecided, will help us make our borough an even better place to work, live and visit in.

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