Stockport Council leader, Labour’s Cllr Alex Ganotis, has issued a strong condemnation of Liberal Democrat ‘posturing’ on the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) during last night’s (Thursday 1st December) Stockport Council meeting.
The Council were asked to consider an amendment, drawn up by Cheadle’s former MP, Cllr Mark Hunter, which would see Stockport Council withdraw completely from the GMSF plan, potentially leading to the scrapping of the Greater Manchester-wide project altogether. The amendment was voted down by all sides of the Chamber with the exception of the Liberal Democrats.
In response, Cllr Ganotis comments:
“What we saw last night was the worst face of politics. To withdraw from a process where residents, including Mark Hunter’s own constituents – can have their say upon what is proposed locally – and revert to a situation where anything can be proposed reaches for the absurd.
“Liberal Democrats have been – until the eve of last night it seems – urging residents to take part in the consultation. So their stunt is political flip-flopping of the highest order.
“We don’t want a planning free-for-all and that’s why you make a plan, and involve residents to get it right. The GMSF is being designed to provide us with the best possible chance to ensure we can guarantee planned and sustainable development.
“As such this blatant political posturing is an insult to the residents who have already taken part, who want a voice and a say in the future plans for their neighbourhood. This is without mention of all the hard work put in across ten Local Authorities to develop a balanced, integrated plan for the future of housing, jobs and green spaces across Greater Manchester.
“Cheap stuntmaking is an unfortunate part of politics. It is a further shame when this seeks to deny residents a voice.”
Stockport’s Labour Executive Member for Economy & Regeneration, Cllr Kate Butler adds:
“Stockport Lib Dems’ call to abandon the GMSF is reckless, irresponsible and exceptionally hard to understand given their former leader, Sue Derbyshire, played a central role in actually designing the plan at the GM level until she lost her council seat in May this year. This is a crucial time for all Stockport residents who deserve to have their voices heard and need to be an integral part of the full, ongoing consultation process. If the Lib Dems had got their way, Stockport’s greenbelt would be placed under even greater strain and there’d be very little that anyone could do about it. The best way to protect the greenbelt is to work together to create a workable plan across Greater Manchester, and this can only be done in full consultation with all residents.”
The GMSF offers residents across Greater Manchester their say on planned housing, business, and infrastructure developments over the next 20 years. Drawn up by all ten of Greater Manchester Councils, the plan is currently in the first phase of consultation, with residents able to have their say up until the 23rd December. This will feed into a second phase of consultation next year, before any final Framework plan is agreed with the Councils involved.
Liberal Council Leader Sue Derbyshire was the lead within the Council on GMCA and planning until May.
You can take a look, and have your say on the GMSF plan through the consultation portal, available at: https://gmsf-consult.objective.co.uk/portal
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