Oldham Council narrowly voted to withdraw from the Places for Everyone housing plan, which includes 11,500 homes in the borough.
The council has no overall controlling party right now. Council officers will ask the government for Oldham to withdraw from the Places for Everyone scheme or PfE.
PfE is a housing plan for Greater Manchester that wants 170,000 homes built in nine areas, with Oldham slated to receive 11,500 of those homes. Howard Sykes, who leads the Liberal Democrats on the council, voted to withdraw from PfE, stating the plan favors developers over people.
Some councillors wanted out of PfE since May 2024. Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, and independents agreed and Labour lost control of the council then.
Oldham Council and eight others approved PfE earlier, while Stockport Council left PfE in 2022 before its final approval. The council will now ask Angela Rayner, who is in charge of housing for the country, to remove them. The vote passed Wednesday night.
The housing plan should prioritize brownfield land first to help stop the housing crisis. Building would occur in several Oldham locations, including Beal Valley, Bottom Field Farm, Broadbent Moss, south of Coal Pit Lane, and south of Rosary Road.
Many opposed PfE including greenbelt land. Sykes told other councillors his concerns, and said luxury homes on greenbelt aren’t the answer. He claimed PfE is a plan for profit, not for local needs, and that Oldham can create a better housing plan.
Labour councillors wanted to stay in PfE. Arooj Shah is a council leader who said people are misleading local residents. She thinks leaving PfE is a mistake that hurts Oldham, its green spaces and residents, and believes it will cause more greenbelt development.
Shah claims Stockport’s leaders are helping developers. The final vote was 31 to 29, and people loudly cheered the results.