Plans to shape development in comprehensive way

Bury Council has adopted new guidance which will shape the development of sites at Elton Reservoir and Walshaw.

Both locations had already been approved for new housing under the Places for Everyone plan, but any planning applications for development must be in line with a masterplan that has been approved by the council. The guidance sets out what the council will expect in terms of the scope and content of future masterplans for each site.

These masterplans should take account of all site constraints and characteristics, and include all the necessary supporting infrastructure such as new roads, education and healthcare provision, walking and cycling routes and recreation space.

They must also ensure that wildlife and heritage interests are fully considered, with each site achieving at least a 10% net gain in biodiversity, and that there is a strategy in place to deal with any wider environmental issues such as flood risk.

The council produced a draft Supplementary Planning Document to encompass all this, which went out for public consultation last year. It attracted 166 responses, and the amended SPD has now been approved by the council’s cabinet which met last night (16 April).

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, leader of the council, said: “We want these sites to help address the acute need for housing in the borough.

“However, we also want to ensure that the sites are developed appropriately and are supported by necessary infrastructure with a clear phasing strategy.

“This SPD sets out more detailed guidance on what the council will expect to see in the future masterplans and phasing strategies for both sites.

“These SPDs, and the future masterplans they will help to shape, will reinforce the infrastructure guarantee we set out in PfE. This means that if the necessary infrastructure is not delivered as part of the development, the development will not happen.”

Cllr O’Brien added: “This is why it is essential to have an agreed masterplan in place to shape this and any future planning applications.”