The Government is to publish its (delayed) Housing White Paper today. The Paper is important for our area and the whole of Greater Manchester because what it says around how local councils should develop plans for housing.

From what has already been told to the press, it seems that there will be no change to policies on the Green Belt, meaning that Green Belt land can only be built on in ‘exceptional circumstances’. Of course the question will be what is ‘exceptional circumstances’, and there is already one very worrying ‘test case’ last year in Birmingham where the Government agreed that high levels of housing need meant that green belt land could be built on.

The Governments emphasis seems to have shifted to more ‘higher density’ town and city centre development to meet housing need, measures to encourage more rental homes and measures to speed up the number of unbuilt planning permissions (building work must start within two years, not three).

More information to follow, but here’s this mornings analysis by Housing 24.Let us know what you think on the proposals.