30Nov 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Liberal Democrats welcome adjournment on Green Belt homes plan debate

Liberal Democrats welcome adjournment on Green Belt homes plan debate

Borough news
The Oldham Council Liberal Democrat Group has welcomed the decision at a full meeting of Oldham Council (25/11/20)to postpone the decision on whether to approve the controversial plan to build housing on the Green Belt. The plan, backed by the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester and Labour Leaders of the Greater Manchester local authorities, would if adopted in Oldham mean 11,817 new homes built in the borough by 2037. Many hundreds of homes would be built on greenfield sites in Shaw and Crompton represented by Liberal Democrat Councillors. Last week, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, wrote to the Leader of the Council asking for an adjournment after councillors in Salford and Stockport failed to reach their own decisions on the plan. Commenting, Councillor Sykes said:…
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20Nov 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrat Leader seeks Oldham delay in deciding on Green Belt homes plan

Borough news
Salford and Stockport Councils have this week postponed their meetings where councillors will decide on whether to adopt the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework and the Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has written to the Leader of Oldham Council suggesting it would be wise to do the same. Liberal Democrat Councillors in Stockport were ready and keen to speak against the Labour-led plans at the meeting last Tuesday (17 November), but at the last minute, the Labour, Conservative and Independent Group leaders backed an adjournment for two to three weeks to enable a backroom deal to be made between them. In Salford the Conservatives have called in the plans for further scrutiny before a final decision is made. With these new developments, Councillor Sykes has now written to…
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15Oct 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Success on deadline extensions for planning

Success on deadline extensions for planning

Borough news
Oldham Council’s planning department has responded to calls from Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani to extend the deadlines for all planning applications affected by the switchover to a new system. Anyone who has been affected should contact the case officer concerned, or email planning.admin@oldham.gov.uk to get the full details. Councillor Al-Hamdani said: “It’s good to get a quick and positive response. The Council needs to deliver a planning service that people can trust, and doing this when there has been a problem is a good step. I hope they continue to respond as well in the future.”
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15Oct 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Hardly Magnificent – Stockport and Tameside spat delays Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) for seventh time

Hardly Magnificent – Stockport and Tameside spat delays Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) for seventh time

Borough news
Oldham Liberal Democrat Councillors were bemused to hear that Labour’s plans to build thousands of new homes on the Greater Manchester Green Belt have been delayed yet again for the seventh time; this time, because of a spat between two neighbouring Labour-run Councils, Stockport and Tameside, over redevelopment proposals for an industrial estate. The Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) was developed by Greater Manchester’s Labour Mayor with the ten local authority leaders. The controversial plan, which is opposed by Liberal Democrat Councillors across Greater Manchester and many members of the public, has been rumbling on for years without resolution. Next month, Mayor Burnham was due to proceed with a final public consultation on the latest proposals. Commenting, Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, said: “These plans were meant…
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03Oct 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Greater Manchester Spatial Framework is the wrong plan, at the wrong time

Greater Manchester Spatial Framework is the wrong plan, at the wrong time

Borough news
Liberal Democrats in Oldham and across Greater Manchester are calling for a halt to the Greater Manchester Strategic Framework, due to be published on 5 October 2020. In advance of the publication, Oldham Council has revealed their local proposals and there will be a full meeting of the Council to discuss these on Wednesday 28 October. Wrong plan Oldham Liberal Democrat Councillors recognise that we will need more homes in the Borough, and we want to build the high quality, affordable and energy efficient homes that people need, but not at the expense of losing our precious green spaces. During the Covid-19 pandemic, residents have been using our great outdoors for exercise and solace. This experience this year tells us, we need our open spaces more than ever. Our precious…
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01Oct 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Saddleworth and Oldham Tories out of step on planning with party colleagues

Saddleworth and Oldham Tories out of step on planning with party colleagues

Borough news
Saddleworth and Oldham Conservative Councillors showed themselves to be out of step with party colleagues when voting against a recent motion at Oldham Council.  The motion, supported by Liberal Democrat Councillors, called for the government’s recently-published proposals to radically reform the planning process to be scrapped. Conservative Councillor Graham Sheldon spoke, and voted, against the motion arguing that: “The once in a generation reforms will lay the foundations for a brighter future for Oldham and Saddleworth”, but his enthusiasm is not shared by Conservative Councillors elsewhere. A recent survey by Savanta Comres of Conservative Councillors across the country found 61% opposed to the government’s proposals, contained in a White Paper called Planning for the Future.  This majority believe the proposals will make planning less democratic as elected members and members…
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29Sep 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Lib Dems challenge Govt’s “power grab” planning proposals

Lib Dems challenge Govt’s “power grab” planning proposals

Parliamentary news
In a policy motion adopted at the Liberal Democrats’ Autumn Conference, the Party has warned that the Government’s planning proposals will “disempower” councils and allow developers to “run roughshod” over local communities’ wishes. The motion lays bare the risks of the Government’s proposals, which the Party argue amount to a Government “power grab” that will reduce investment in affordable housing, damage public scrutiny of planning decisions, and potentially undermine climate commitments. By supporting the motion, the Liberal Democrat members reaffired their commitment to challenging the move through the Government’s consultation process and reject the “reduction of local control”. Liberal Democrat Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson Tim Farron said: “Planning decisions have incredible power to shape the places we live for the better. Local people are clearly best placed to…
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08Sep 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Creation of Brownfield Fund welcome, but will fail to ‘scratch the surface’

Creation of Brownfield Fund welcome, but will fail to ‘scratch the surface’

Borough news
The Oldham Liberal Democrats have welcomed the creation of a so called new £400 million Brownfield Land fund, from which £81.1 million will be made available to the 10 Greater Manchester Authorities over the next five years, but say the overall investment ‘won’t scratch the surface’ when compared to the cost of remediating former industrial land in our City Region to make it fit for housing. Alongside publishing a new White Paper ‘Planning for the Future’ last month, the Conservative Government restated its so-called commitment to building new homes on brownfield sites first; an approach the Oldham Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for years. Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Liberal Democrat Group Leader, explained: “According to Department of Trade figures, the UK has approximately 1,000,000 acres of contaminated land, much of…
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08Sep 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Democracy please – Labour hypocrisy over planning issues

Democracy please – Labour hypocrisy over planning issues

Borough news
This Wednesday (9 Sept), Oldham Council will be debating a motion calling for planning to have ‘democratic control at its heart’ in response to a Conservative Governments proposal to abolish Planning Committees, but to Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, says Labour would have had more credibility over this issue if they practiced what they preached. At the June 17 meeting of Oldham Council, despite the vocal objections of Liberal Democrat Councillors, the Labour Group abolished the entitlement of Ward Councillors to address the Planning Committee to speak about local applications on behalf of their constituents. Labour also agreed changes to allow planning officers to dispose of public open land more easily, and empowered officers to decide on developments of 20 homes or less without bringing them for…
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04Sep 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Councillor fears new planning rules a concern for Saddleworth

Councillor fears new planning rules a concern for Saddleworth

Borough news, Campaigns, Parliamentary news
Saddleworth North Liberal Democrat Councillor Garth Harkness has expressed concerns about the likely negative impact of Boris Johnson’s new White Paper ‘Planning for the Future’, which the Conservatives claim will represent the most radical changes to our planning system since the Second World War.  Councillor Harkness said: “We live in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, but this Conservative legislation will do nothing for our green and pleasant land.” Under the Conservative plan, central government will designate whole swathes of the country for ‘growth’, meaning that developers will have ‘planning permission in principle’. Conservative ministers claim it will eliminate ‘red tape’ but the Liberal Democrats fear that it abolish any meaningful involvement of local councils and residents in planning matters. Councillor Garth Harkness said “I already have a…
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