The UK Government has threatened to intervene at Stockport Council due to the local authority 'failing' to move plans forward.

Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, has told the Liberal Democrat-run council they need to get moving or face Westminster taking over.

The threat to the local authority relates to the long delayed local plan that is being prepared. This plan will set out a guideline for development in the borough including where 25,000 homes would be built up until 2042.

The plans include an affordable housing target of 50% and the homes would be built on brownfield first. However there has been huge public interest with 3,800 responses to a public feedback exercise last year.

Stockport Council has previously said it expects its local plan to be adopted in the winter of 2027. However before then, there are some deadlines the council needs to meet.

While the government said in a letter published July 2 the local authority had complied with requirements so far, a request to extend a deadline to submit the local plan to New Year's Eve 2026 had raised concerns.

Mr Pennycook said: "I have been very clear that where councils are failing to progress plans, I will not hesitate to make use of the Secretary of State's intervention powers. For the reasons given in my previous direction letter I believe it is necessary to continue to consider intervention action in this case.

"However, having considered your letter I am willing to amend the submission date set out in my previous direction. This amendment will still ensure the plan is submitted in the legacy system but allow the council additional time for the preparation of a robust plan, which is capable of being found sound."

Mr Pennycook said he would allow the council to begin the next stage of the process a month later which he believes would still allow the overall plan to be submitted on time.

He added: "I will be asking my officials to liaise with you on this matter on a regular basis and to provide me with updates on your progress. Should you fail to comply with the direction in this letter, or should you delay progress of your emerging draft plan in relation to the amended LDS [local development scheme] milestones, I will consider whether I need to take any further intervention action.

"I can revisit my decision to direct your council at any time if I consider this is justified."

The threat of the intervention was raised repeatedly at a meeting on July 9 by members of the public concerned about the delay and what that could mean for developments on the green belt. In response, top Liberal Democrat councillors said they were working hard on the plan but also blamed both Conservative and Labour governments for contributing to the issue.

At the meeting, Alan Burke asked if 'the council is asleep at the wheel while mass overdevelopment is now inevitable'. He said the borough had been left without a plan after the local authority pulled out of the Greater Manchester wide Places for Everyone plan and since then 'every greenfield site to the south and west of the borough has been targeted by house builders and the council is powerless to stop mass overdevelopment'.

In response, Cllr Jake Austin said he shared many of the concerns and has been working relentlessly to get the council to deliver a plan, adding: "The timeline for how we have got into this position has been quite complicated."

He said the council began working on a plan when they took control in 2022 but had faced obstacles including Labour doubling their housing targets in 2024 and 'completely changing the rules of the game'.

The councillor said they were putting together a plan that plays by the rules but criticised the government for its national planning changes despite opposition locally. He added the one month delay put them in line with other councils but the deadline was 'incredibly tight to work with'.

If the government stepped in, he said: "That would mean officers from Westminster taking control of our plan making process and deciding where houses should be built. I firmly believe it is our council and our officers that are in the best place to make those decisions, not Westminster."

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