Having only recently advised a client the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) is unlikely to be finalised before the 2020 Mayoral election, this only confirms the news that it will be significantly delayed.
We have seen since the release of the draft GMSF in January this year, protests regarding the release of Green Belt, despite the draft GMSF reducing the overall release from the 2016 figures.
With the North West being disproportionately affected by the level of land protected by the Green Belt, by not releasing some of this means that the ambition of the GMSF for both housing and employment led development becomes diluted.
Greater Manchester’s 201,000-home spatial framework looks to have been kicked into the long grass again, although the GMCA’s attempts to pin the blame on the Government for the delay have been questioned by those close to the process. The latest delay leaves it unlikely that any final form of the framework will come forward before next year’s Mayoral elections, taking place in May 2020. The long-awaited draft of the framework was published in January this year, outlining Green Belt release and a plan to build a minimum of 201,000 new homes across Greater Manchester’s 10 boroughs, alongside 65m sq ft of employment space; a consultation on the plans followed soon after.
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