Oldham wants to leave Andy Burnham's enormous housing scheme - what does that mean?

A decision in Oldham could alter the course of a Greater Manchester plan that has been more than a decade in the making.

The council will write to the government asking to withdraw from Andy Burnham’s Places for Everyone (PfE), a housing blueprint that is supposed to bring tens of thousands of new homes to the region. But if Oldham council is allowed to withdraw, there could be unintended consequences for both the borough and Greater Manchester as a whole.

So what would happen if the Secretary of State Angela Rayner agrees to Oldham’s request?

PfE is supposed to pave the way for 170,000 new homes to be built in nine of the ten Greater Manchester boroughs. Around 11,500 of those homes are due to be built in Oldham, which like most of the UK is struggling with a severe housing crisis.

The plans promise a ‘brownfield land first’ approach. But they also include a number of green belt sites, which has sparked fierce opposition from campaign and political groups.

Despite the criticism, the nine Greater Manchester boroughs agreed to PfE early last year and have been using it in planning decisions ever since.

The agreement was supposed to bring an end to almost 11 years of negotiations and planning - but in Oldham, the debate has rumbled on.

For several months tensions have been rising between political groups in Oldham. A recent council meeting had to be stopped after a debate over the issue escalated, with councillors hurling insults such as ‘Nazi sympathiser’ and ‘dictator’ at each other.

Opposition groupe scheme because the plans include a number of key greenbelt beauty spots, such as Beal Valley, Bottom Field Farm, Broadbent Moss, south of Coal Pit Lane, and south of Rosary Road and others.

Liberal Democrat