Council is told to progress plan after 'repeated failure'

STOCKPORT council has been handed a warning by the government over 'repeated failure' to progress its local plan.

- BY DECLAN CAREY

Stockport town hall

A local plan is a document outlining a vision for future development in an area, including building new homes, which is used to make planning decisions.

Stockport council had a draft local plan prepared last year ready to go to a public consultation in September, but the town hall postponed this after the government brought in new mandatory housing targets.

The council is under no overall control but is led by the Lib Dems.

Stockport council last adopted a local plan in 2011. It voted to withdraw from a Greater Manchester-wide development plan in 2020, with some councillors citing concerns about development on the green belt.

The minister of state for housing and planning, Labour MP Matthew Pennycook, has now ordered Stockport council to move its local plan along, threatening 'further action' unless progress is made.

He wrote a letter to council leader Mark Roberts with his concerns.

The minister of state said in his letter: 'Since 2020, the council has not progressed to a formal consultation on a new plan.

'In the same period, the rest of Greater Manchester has adopted a joint local plan which sets out strategic policies, giving those councils the ability to plan effectively for their areas.'

The letter continued: 'I have been very clear that where councils are failing to progress plans, I will not hesitate to make use of the secretary of state's intervention powers.'

He also accused the council of making 'limited plan preparation progress over the last four years against previous milestones.