The blueprint for the development of all but one borough of Greater Manchester over the next 15 years is now up for consultation for the last time.

Places for Everyone is almost a reality after inspectors appointed by the secretary of state for Levelling Up examined it over last year and this year.

The examination led to a number of changes, or "Main Modifications", most of them with the aim of clarity and consistency in the blueprint for the development of all but one borough after the withdrawal of Stockport Council from what was then the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework in 2020. 

However, some of these "Main Modifications" have important implications for the area, and in particular for its green belt.

In Bolton, the plan included the removal of 205 hectares of land from the green belt across several sites – Bewshill Farm off Salford Road, Chequerbent North off Chequerbent Roundabout and West of Wingates off Chorley Road – all for commercial use rather than residential use. This is unchanged.

The plan included the addition of 65 hectares of land to the green belt at Knowles Farm in Horwich and Ditchers Farm in Westhoughton but this is now less than 10 hectares of land after it was deemed there was not enough evidence for the sites.

READ MORE: Keir Starmer reassures residents over future of Green Belt.

It leads to the loss of almost three per cent of all the green belt in the borough.

These changes and other changes are now up for consultation for the last time.

Paul Dennett, the mayor of Salford and lead for Places for Everyone on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, said: "I am proud of the journey we have been on to reach this consultation. The voices of our residents across Greater Manchester have helped to shape the future we are working towards.

"I want to continue to thank the inspectors and everyone involved in this process since we began in 2014 with a vision to ensure we work towards meeting housing needs and making sure residents in Greater Manchester have a place to call home."

The consultation started this week and it is open until December. To contribute go to gmconsult.org/pfe/mainmods2023/.

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.