Town's housing plan delayed after government proposes new targets

Stockport council has delayed a plan to build thousands of new homes in the borough after proposed changes to the national planning system.

The town's draft local plan was due to go to public consultation in September, with the Lib Dem administration planning to deliver a total of 15,000 homes by 2041.

This would have provided 85 percent of the borough's housing need, with 8,000 homes proposed for the town centre.

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But the plan has been paused by Stockport council after a Labour proposal to introduce mandatory house building targets, with an increase in the number of homes the borough is required to build.

This would nearly double the number of homes needed in Stockport each year from 1,097 to 1,906.

Coun Mark Hunter, leader of Stockport council, said Labour's proposal "ignores residents’ wishes" and risks increased development on green belt land.

He added: “We absolutely accept the urgent need for the right mix of homes, including affordable and social housing, but there is no easy solution to this.

"Their plans to ignore residents’ wishes and concrete over the green spaces that they hold dear was not mentioned in any of the leaflets they delivered across the borough in the recent local or national elections.

“We will continue to work towards delivering a local plan which protects the character of the borough and which delivers the right homes in the right places, taking a ‘brownfield first’ approach, using previously developed land, but it seems clear the government will force us to build on the green belt to meet their centrally-imposed housing target.

"I firmly believe that central government targets, however well intended, should