Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig has called for lessons to be learned from the approval of PLP’s Astley Park industrial scheme in Wigan, following strong local opposition over its proximity to homes. An independent audit found Wigan Council followed national planning procedure, but said the developer’s pre-application consultation was wholly inadequate.
A revised proposal for a 68-bed care home in Handforth has returned to Cheshire East Council with officers now recommending approval after earlier concerns led to withdrawal. The scheme has been amended to address Green Belt, drainage, tree protection and biodiversity issues, with officers concluding that very special circumstances now outweigh Green Belt harm.
An outline planning application has been submitted for 180 homes at North Lumb Farm near Woodhouses, Oldham, with the applicant arguing the site qualifies as Grey Belt and should be approved in light of local housing need and a shortfall in deliverable supply. The scheme includes 63 affordable homes and areas of green/open space, and is being promoted as compliant with the NPPF Golden Rules.
Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig has set out a plan to deliver 10,000 new social homes by May 2028, supported by a new Public Sector Land Bank and funding expected through Homes England’s Social and Affordable Housing Programme. The announcement was made alongside a visit to a recently completed EPC A social housing scheme in Ashton-under-Lyne, which Craig cited as a model for energy-efficient, brownfield-led delivery.
Cheshire Fresh has submitted an outline planning application for Weavers Green, a proposed 280-acre development north-west of Crewe that could deliver up to 2,100 homes alongside employment space, local facilities and land for a primary school. The site is currently countryside and not allocated for development, but the application is framed against Cheshire East Council’s inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply.
The Planning Inspectorate has overturned Cheshire East Council’s refusal of Bloor Homes’ outline application for up to 200 homes off Prestbury Road in Macclesfield. The inspector gave significant weight to the council’s shortfall in five-year housing land supply, accepted the site as Grey Belt, and found only minor landscape harm with no highway safety objection upheld.
X1 Media City Limited, the special purpose vehicle behind a four-tower scheme at Salford Quays, has entered administration with one tower still unbuilt. The administrators report says the company owed more than £20m to investors who had paid deposits, alongside £2.4m to contractor Vermont Construction, and the site is now being marketed for sale to recover funds for creditors.
Bentry Capital is aiming to begin construction on the first phase of its revived Abbey Row scheme in Liverpool in Q4 2026, subject to final Gateway 2 approval from the Building Safety Regulator. The project, previously stalled under earlier ownership, has been redesigned and reduced from 419 to 367 apartments, with the first phase set to deliver 241 homes.
Henley Investment Management’s proposed 78-storey redevelopment at Regent Retail Park in Salford is set to return to the planning committee after a procedural complaint raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest in the original approval process. The scheme, which includes 3,300 homes and 660 social rent units, remains under consideration while the council addresses the issue.
Manchester City Council has approved revised plans for a build-to-rent residential scheme off Cross Quays Street, increasing the scheme from 99 homes to 104. The project, led by CERT Property and backed by Oliver Cookson, is expected to move toward a Gateway 2 submission in the coming months.
Construction has started on Tatton Services, a £65m motorway services scheme on the M56 between Junctions 7 and 8, with opening targeted for spring 2028. The development, led by Westmorland in joint venture with Tatton Estate, includes a farm shop, food hall, hotel, filling station and EV charging, and was approved after a planning call-in and inspector decision on grey belt status.
Strip-out and demolition have begun at the former Crompton Place shopping centre in Bolton, clearing the way for a proposed £250m mixed-use redevelopment led by Bolton Council and MEPC. The scheme is expected to create a new pedestrian link and could include homes, a hotel and office space, with demolition to be carried out in phases and mitigation measures for dust, noise and vibration.
