The Development Plan Working Party of Stockport Council met on Wednesday 19 March 2025 to discuss the outcomes of a recent Call for Sites exercise and the ongoing Green Belt assessment. The meeting was scheduled to review the initial findings of the Call for Sites initiative, which aimed to gather information on land for both development and protection across Stockport.

Call for Sites

The meeting was scheduled to consider a report from the Assistant Director Place Making and Planning / Chief Planning Officer regarding the recent Call for Sites exercise. This exercise, which ran from 13 December 2024 to 2 February 2025, sought submissions from interested parties regarding land in Stockport. The report was expected to provide an overview of the broad numbers of sites received and outline the subsequent steps for assessing them.

According to the report, a total of 360 responses were received, with 193 submitted via email and 167 through an online form. Some submissions were from statutory consultees indicating their interest in being kept informed, while others offered or sought land for sale. A number of submissions reportedly lacked sufficient detail for officers to identify the land in question, and efforts were being made to obtain further clarity.

Of the submissions, approximately 340 sites were identified. Of these, 180 were proposed for protection and 160 for development. Notably, around 215 sites were identified as being wholly or partly within the Green Belt, with a roughly even split between those put forward for development and those for protection.

The report outlined the next stages of assessment. Sites wholly within the Green Belt would be identified and assessed as part of a separate Green Belt site selection process, to be undertaken after the Green Belt assessment is complete. This would apply to all such sites, regardless of whether they were submitted for protection or development.

For sites located within the urban area, they would be assessed for their suggested use, whether for protection or development. Officers were to apply a range of criteria, including flood risk, heritage matters, proximity to services, and the sufficiency of existing and potential infrastructure, including open space, green/blue infrastructure, and transport infrastructure. Sites identified as suitable for protection would be fed into the Local Plan land allocation process. For example, sites put forward for protection as open space would be assessed on their merits and, where relevant, allocated as such on the Policies Map.

Non-Green Belt sites deemed suitable for housing in principle would be assessed as part of the updated Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) work. This process aims to assess all new and previously evaluated developable sites. As previously briefed, the council is seeking to optimise densities to make effective use of land, particularly focusing on urban sites well-located in relation to public transport and services, in line with Section 11 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)¹. Assessing all existing and potential sites for the SHLAA is intended to ensure a consistent approach to determining appropriate densities on suitable sites.

The report indicated that the outcomes of the SHLAA work, along with the Green Belt assessment and subsequent site selection, would be crucial in forming both a housing target for the plan and identifying land for allocation in the Stockport Local Plan. These findings, alongside sites allocated for protection, would be reported to members at the appropriate stage. The Working Party was asked to note the information presented and provide any comments.

Green Belt Assessment Report

The Working Party was also scheduled to consider a verbal report from the Assistant Director Place Making and Planning / Chief Planning Officer concerning the Green Belt Assessment process. The Working Party was asked to note the contents of this verbal report and provide any comments.