The level of demand for property in the Greater Manchester area is reaching significant levels and action must be taken in order to ease the housing crisis in the local area. All of the ten councils in the area have created plans for a housebuilding programme that looks set to transform the Greater Manchester region. These plans will take place over the next 20 years but the news that 80 of the recommended sites are ‘green belt’ sites will be controversial for many people.
It has been decided that a total of 225,000 new homes will be needed in the region by 2035 to meet demand and growth. In Manchester itself, there is a need for over 60,000 properties, which will likely come in the form of flats. Given that there are no green belt areas in the city centre, these new properties are likely to come on land that was previously used for industrial work.
Salford has a need for 30,000 new properties and it is believed that the local council will push for work to be undertaken on brownfield sites as opposed to green belt areas. This isn’t an option that is open to Stockport Council, which means that the 20,000 new properties that have been listed for this area will likely come from green belt sites. One area that is likely to be impacted in the countryside of Marple. There is also expected to be a number of areas around Torkington which can be developed for property in the local area.
Stockport could be significantly changed if these plans come to light
There may also be 600 new properties coming to the fields which currently lie to the north of the Seashell Trust grounds in Cheadle Hulme. There is also expected to be properties built on the land that is found across the border area run by Stockport Council and Cheshire East.
The public consultation period is set for October and it is likely that there will be opposition to any plans that involve building on green belt land. There is a need for people to take into consideration that the current property market landscape is very different from the one Britain faced when initial green belt plans were drawn up. There is a huge need for affordable housing to be made available in many parts of the UK, and Greater Manchester is definitely one of these areas.
There is some political talk that green belt projects should be utilised for affordable social housing, which would be of interest to many individuals, but it remains to be seen whether the developers are likely to be as supportive of this move.
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