A "dated" development plan at the heart of all applications for planning permission is up for review by Bolton Council. The Bolton Local Plan is an assortment of planning policies some of which are more than 10 years old at the moment. Some of the policies are in the remit of the local authority while some of the policies like Places for Everyone are in the remit of larger authorities like the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Those in the remit of the local authority are up for review after approval by cabinet last Monday (October 14). It is a £1m, three-year process which is to come to its conclusion at an independent inquiry by the Planning Inspectorate. Jane Gowing, Bolton Council's Head of Planning, said: "An up-to-date development plan is a requirement and, while we have Places for Everyone across Greater Manchester, we have a local plan which is able to add detail.
Importantly it allocates sites for housing in the medium term and in the long term." ALSO READ: Bolton Council approves allocation of Household Support Fund . Cllr Martyn Cox, the leader of the opposition, asked if it is possible to review local planning policies at a time when the Labour Party is reviewing national planning policies in the form of the National Planning Policy Framework.
Until the National Planning Policy Framework is set in stone there is uncertainty over the local authority's housing target which looks likely to go up 70 per cent from around 780 homes a year to around 1,340 homes a y.
