THE recent news that a report published by the 'National Institute of Economic & Social Research' has found that it is likely that annual net migration could be slashed by as much as 150,000 EU immigrants per year as a result of a BREXIT, due to a tightening of immigration rules-could mean a total of 2-3 million less people needing homes in the UK (but going off the past records mainly in England) -over the next 20 years.

This calls into question Bolton Labour council's 'Greater Manchester Strategic Framework' proposals to build up to 7,000 homes on our precious 'Green Belt' land, that was based on pre-BREXIT estimates of housing needs. Until this glaring discrepancy is taken into account and new housing needs are re-evaluated, all references to building on our 'Green Belt' should be removed from the GMSF immediately. There is more than enough 'brown land' in need of regenerating, for the reduced number of homes we really need to be built over the time-scale of the GMSF— other than the fact that a 'brown land' first policy should be compulsory anyway?

The problem we unfortunately have is that the Labour Party, both nationally and locally (including Labour's candidate for GM Elected Mayor Andy Burnham) have long had a policy of 'open door immigration' into the UK.

They also have had an anti-BREXIT political stance, which explains their GMSF housing numbers position.

This makes the appointment of Westhoughton councillor David Chadwick as chair of the 'anti-Green Belt building' group HEART a strange choice. Not only is he a member of a party that supports the main driver of housing demand — EU immigration and a recent critic of Brexit, but importantly he is a prominent member of Bolton's Labour Cabinet, which has approved their Greater Manchester Spatial Framework plan to allow the building of thousands of new homes on what remains of Bolton's precious 'Green Space' An obvious conflict of interest that can't easily be explained away. Without Brexit our future would be very different — unrestricted EU immigration would have led to unrestricted building development of our 'green Belt.'

Derek Bullock

Leigh Road

Westhoughton