Housing and planning is always one of the most contentious topics. There is demand for affordable houses, a desire to protect our local greenspaces and the need to get the right infrastructure.
Too often, Bolton Council have not got the balance right and I have worked with residents to oppose developments at Bowlands Hey in Westhoughton, Hulton Park, Horwich Golf Course and on Captains Clough playing fields in Smithills. There is a need for new housing but not at the expense of our green spaces and this is why I have always championed a brown field first approach.
Without a local housing plan, developers have been able to apply to build on green spaces. The Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF), was intended to deliver such a plan but was significantly delayed by local council leaders. The GMSF was first brought forward in 2014 but has taken ten years and this third version called ‘Places for Everyone’ for it to be adopted. This plan will provide certainty for the next fifteen years.
I made submissions on your behalf at the different stages of GMSF, championing the protection of and the addition to our local greenbelt, the utilisation of brownfield sites for development and regeneration and the need for additional infrastructure such as roads, schools and health services.
The latest edition of the plan with reports and appendixes runs into thousands of pages – the documents can be viewed via the link below:
With regard to the Bolton Borough, the plan does not allocate any further greenbelt land within Bolton West for housing development. Instead, the redevelopment of brownfield sites, particularly in the centre of Bolton will be used to deliver new housing. While in control of Bolton Council, the Conservatives kickstarted a number of redevelopment projects in the town centre which we are now seeing come to fruition. I am pleased that the plan expands the greenbelt at Horwich Golf Course/Knowles Farm to prevent any further development, beyond the initial Northstone site.
Land has also been allocated to expand Wingates Industrial Estate, expansion industrial land at Chequerbent roundabout and expand the Logistics North site. While expansion of industrial spaces will provide jobs, local transport infrastructure will need to be upgraded to deal with increased traffic.
As well as allocating land for development, the plan was meant to provide detail on infrastructure upgrades, covering GP surgeries, transport and school places. So I was disappointed with the lack of detail in this area. For many years, Westhoughton has needed the construction of a by-pass to deal with current levels of traffic. I expected the GMSF to deliver a commitment to the construction of a by-pass and early drafts of the plan did this. However, the latest iteration of the plan removes any direct mention of a Westhoughton by-pass.
I hope that the above provides a useful snapshot on housing, planning and future developments. So that I can continue to represent your views I would like to hear your thoughts, please do fill in the survey below:
