People will be able to have their say on guidance about how the council wants to develop land in the Elton Reservoir and Walshaw areas next month as part of major housing plans.

The Greater Manchester Places for Everyone Joint Development Plan (PfE) has earmarked the two sites for new housing.

At an often stormy meeting of the full council back in March, the PfE was adopted in Bury.

There was a good-natured protest outside by campaign group Bury Folk Keep it Green, with around 120 of their members greeting councillors as they arrived at the town hall.

The most contentious aspect of the plan is the allocation of housing in areas of Bury which contain elements of green belt land.

The plan allows for 3,500 homes to be built in the Elton Reservoir area, 1,250 in Walshaw and 1,350 in the Simister and Bowlee area.

On jobs, the plan includes the Northern Gateway development in the Heywood and Pilsworth area which is identified as a large, nationally significant location for new employment-led development within both Bury and Rochdale.

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The major scheme says that any planning applications for development must be in line with a masterplan that has been approved by the council.

The council's masterplans about the sites should take account of all constraints and characteristics, and be set out in a manner that includes necessary supporting infrastructure, such as new roads, education and healthcare provision, walking and cycling routes and recreation space.

The council says its masterplans will also ensure that wildlife and heritage interests are fully considered, with each site achieving at least a 10 per cent net gain in biodiversity and that there is a strategy in place to deal with any wider environmental issues such as flood risk.

To advise on what the Elton Reservoir and Walshaw proposals should cover, the council has produced a draft supplementary planning document which was agreed on Wednesday, September 25 by the council’s cabinet.

There will be a six-week consultation period starting in mid-October with further details set be published on the council’s website.

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Council leader and cabinet member for strategic growth, Cllr Eamonn O’Brien, said: “Places for Everyone is about much more than houses.

"It is essential that the infrastructure is there to create a proper community, whether that’s roads or schools.

“These planning guidance documents will set out in detail what developers must include, and pay for, if and when they wish to build new homes.

“I encourage everyone to take part in the consultation when it takes place in October.”