Places for Everyone: A Plan to Protect Oldham

This week, Oldham Council will hold an extraordinary meeting to debate a motion from the opposition Liberal Democrats that seeks to tear up the Places for Everyone plan for new homes, jobs and sustainable growth.

“𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧: 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛-𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝, 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨.”

𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙁𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚

Places for Everyone isn’t just a housing strategy—it’s about securing Oldham’s future as a strong, self-reliant town within a growing Greater Manchester. It recognises the need for different types of homes—too long denied to local people.

That means suitable housing for older residents who need to downsize, quality family homes with the amenities people expect, and a properly functioning housing ladder that works for everyone—from first-time buyers to those expanding their home for a growing family, to those needing retirement or apartment living.

Crucially, it follows a brownfield first strategy. We are proud of our industrial legacy, but let’s be honest—it has left behind derelict and underused sites that blight our communities. Regenerating these areas will breathe new life into Oldham, as we saw last week in discussions about our town centre’s future.

At the same time, this plan is vital for protecting our green spaces. Without it, unplanned development could threaten the places we value most.

The plan:

Maximises brownfield land, revitalising our town centres

Protects our green belt from unplanned development

Delivers 11,500 new homes so young families can build a future in Oldham

Integrates new developments into a modern transport network, ensuring our town is fit for the future

These are common-sense priorities—putting Oldhamers first and ensuring our town thrives.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝘼𝙩 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚

This plan gives us the ability to shape our own future, to decide where homes are built, and to ensure that development happens on our terms.

But if Oldham withdraws, we lose that control. Stockport took this route, and the result? Developers have overturned local decisions, securing planning permission through appeals, while local communities are left powerless.

I know the significant effort it took—both from local residents and through my own representations over months and years—to safeguard sites like Thornham Old Road and Hanging Chadder. That fight was hard-won, and I don’t want to see these sites or others now safeguarded back on the table with no local say over what happens next.

𝘼 𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝘿𝙪𝙩𝙮 𝙏𝙤 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙏𝙤𝙬𝙣

Since the original Greater Manchester Spatial Framework was first proposed, I have fought for Oldham’s interests—securing changes to remove unsuitable sites, balancing development with valued green space important to living in a decent community.

𝘼 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙥

I also recognise the difficult choices required to get this right. We can’t just say no to everything—we have a duty to plan for the future.

This week, we learned that the number of children in temporary accommodation in Oldham has rocketed to 680. That is a scandal—a direct result of a broken housing system that fails to provide affordability and security.

Nationally, Labour has committed to tackling the housing crisis, supporting brownfield development, and laying the foundations for 1.5 million new homes across the country over the next Parliament. That means ensuring families in Oldham can stay here, put down roots, and build a future—while also protecting our valued green spaces.

Few would claim the Places for Everyone plan is perfect. Even the council has had to wrestle with difficult compromises. But let’s be clear—ripping up this plan won’t give us more control over development, it will do the exact opposite.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙊𝙡𝙙𝙝𝙖𝙢 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩.