Andy Burnham to ‘reach out’ to Oldham rebels and ‘compromise’ on housing plan
Andy Burnham plans to compromise with Oldham councillors opposing the Places for Everyone (PfE) housing plan after the council narrowly voted to withdraw. The plan, which allows green belt development but prioritizes brownfield land, has faced criticism for being developer-led. Oldham follows Stockport's exit from PfE, with concerns over local challenges and housing targets. Burnham warns that withdrawal could leave green belt land unprotected and increase housing demands under new government targets.
Burnham Offers Compromise to Oldham Rebels After Council Votes to Quit Housing Plan
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham pledged to “reach out” to rebel councillors in Oldham after the town voted to withdraw from his flagship housing blueprint, becoming the second borough to reject the controversial development plan.
Oldham council narrowly backed a motion on Wednesday night to request permission to leave Places for Everyone (PfE), the 15-year development strategy covering nine Greater Manchester boroughs that allows building on sections of green belt land.
Liberal Democrat leader Howard Sykes, a long-standing opponent of the plan, told councillors: “Expensive luxury housing on the greenbelt is not the answer to the housing crisis. This will be a developer and profit-led plan, not a people and need based plan.”
Labour council leader Arooj Shah warned withdrawal would leave the borough “with no protection” of greenbelt land and force the council to find space for an additional 1,000 homes under new government targets.
The council will now write to housing minister Angela Rayner requesting formal withdrawal, with deputy Prime Minister Rayner holding final authority over the decision.
Speaking on BBC Radio Manchester, Burnham said he would work with Shah to negotiate a compromise: “I think we need to find common ground where we can and what I will be doing is reaching out to opposition leaders with Arooj Shah to see if we can define what the brownfield land first policy looks like in Oldham.”
He warned that Stockport’s 2020 withdrawal had backfired, leaving the borough needing to build 809 more homes annually and making green belt land more vulnerable to developers.
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