Council says draft local plan balances growth with protection of green belt
Stockport’s Liberal Democrat-led council says it has tried to squeeze as many new homes as possible into the borough without sacrificing protected green belt land, but warned that meeting the government’s higher housing requirement would mean giving up "substantially more green belt" than currently proposed.
The council’s draft local plan aims to provide at least 24,253 new homes up to 2042, with roughly 8,000 of those planned for the town centre. That is below the figure the borough was assessed as needing — 32,317 homes — and councillors say attempting to bridge that gap would have significant consequences for the borough’s green spaces and infrastructure.
At an extraordinary council meeting on 14 September, Cabinet member for housing Councillor Jake Austin highlighted how national changes to the planning framework had altered the context in which Stockport’s plan has been prepared. He told members the council must reconcile its responsibilities to produce a local plan with residents’ concerns about green belt loss.
"The introduction of significantly higher housing requirements, changes to green belt policy, and the concept of grey belt have fundamentally changed the planning context for which this plan has been prepared over the last few years,"
Cllr Austin said officers had worked to maximise brownfield opportunities, properly assess constraints and minimise any release of green belt land wherever possible. But he warned that moving further towards the government’s assessed requirement would require a large expansion of land currently protected from development.
What the draft plan proposes and the trade-offs
- Draft target: 24,253 homes to 2042
- Town centre allocation: c. 8,000 homes
- Government-assessed need: 32,317 homes
The council’s internal assessment argues it has identified a realistic number of homes given the borough’s specific constraints, including existing infrastructure capacity. Officers say the draft plan represents the maximum that can be provided without unduly harming protected land and while taking into account responses from the regulation 18 consultation.
| Figure | Number |
|---|---|
| Draft plan homes to 2042 | 24,253 |
| Planned town centre homes | 8,000 |
| Government-assessed need | 32,317 |
Members were told the previous local plan work, first prepared in 2024, was delayed after the national government raised housebuilding targets. The council now faces a planning environment that includes revised green belt rules and the idea of a "grey belt" — a planning term referenced by councillors as part of the changed national policy landscape.
What this means for Stockport residents
For residents, the debate is a straightforward trade-off: accept more housing to meet the government’s assessed need, or protect green belt and deliver fewer homes locally. The council says it has sought to prioritise brownfield development and to minimise any release of green belt, but recognises the gulf between what the borough can realistically provide and the central government figure.
Next steps for the draft local plan include further stages of consultation and detailed assessment of sites and infrastructure needs. The council’s public discussions, and any modifications to national policy, will determine whether Stockport’s final plan looks much like the current draft or shifts towards greater green belt release to meet higher targets.
Whatever happens, the council has made clear to residents that delivering additional homes on the scale demanded centrally would come at the cost of protected land — a point likely to shape discussions across the borough as the plan progresses.
