Neighbourhood Planning in Hulme

Social Homes for Manchester (SH4M) has been supporting a process in Hulme to explore the possibility of creating a Neighbourhood Plan for the area. 

Neighbourhood Plans (NP) give communities power to influence what gets built in their area, how the buildings are designed and where they are sited. This is a good fit with the aims of SH4M, which are to see more community control over planning, and in particular, more housing that meets local need in terms of size, environmental factors, tenure and location.  

“Neighbourhood planning provides the opportunity for communities to set out a positive vision for how they want their community to develop over the next 10, 15, 20 years in ways that meet identified local need and make sense for local people. They can put in place planning policies that will help deliver that vision, or grant planning permission for the development they want to see” Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)

https://vimeo.com/1205061926?fl=pl&fe=sh

Progress so far

Two community meetings, in April and May 2026, were attended by Hulme residents, the local Labour councillors, members of the SH4M coalition and a community planning consultant, Dave Chapman, to explore what would be involved in a NP process, and what could be achieved. 

Dave, a chartered planner from Devon, has supported similar projects around the UK and thinks NPs can be a valuable democratic tool. He accompanied residents on a walk-round before the first meeting, to get an idea of the geography and the kinds of amenities and issues that would be relevant for a NP, and afterwards produced a briefing paper outlining next steps.

We have a growing mailing list and a project page featuring a registration of interest form and a preliminary survey which anyone who lives or works in Hulme is encouraged to fill in. 

Since they were introduced by the 2011 Localism Act, most NPs have come to pass in relatively well-to-do rural villages and towns, where the existing parish or town council can be designated a ‘Qualifying Body’ to produce a Plan. In urban areas, it is necessary to first set up a Neighbourhood Forum, which can then apply to become a Qualifying Body in order to prepare a NP for a specified Neighbourhood Area.

In Hulme, the first big decision will be what footprint to choose for the NP. The ward has significant non-residential land, including that occupied by ASDA, the two universities and the science park, and a section of the Oxford Road corridor. A big chunk of Hulme has been defined as City Centre in the new draft Local Plan (with a carve-out for the Aquarius estate achieved by lobbying last year by local residents involved in SH4M), while some of it was previously assigned to a Castlefield Neighbourhood Area, for a Neighbourhood Forum that never got off the ground (and has since lapsed). 

Next steps

We are waiting for a meeting with city planners to get their thoughts on the boundary options from a planning perspective. There will then be a well-publicised open meeting to bring together lots of Hulme residents, organisations and businesses, with the aim of agreeing the Neighbourhood Area, establishing a Neighbourhood Forum, and getting ready to submit an application for designation. 

Assuming the Forum application is approved (by the Council and an independent planning inspector) – and if we’ve managed to raise a bit of extra funding – the fun can begin!

Preparing a NP should take two to three years, and would have several stages: 

• ​Evidence gathering: and analysing data on Hulme as it is today.
• Community consultation and surveys: determining the priorities and ideas of those living in Hulme.
• Drafting the plan:: establishing a vision, setting objectives and planning policies. 
• Independent examination: to ensure the plan accords with national and local policy.
• Referendum: of all those on the electoral register in the Hulme Neighbourhood Area as to whether the Neighbourhood Plan should be used by Manchester City Council to help decide planning applications.

The NP would have the same legal status as the Manchester Local Plan, which is underpinned by the 2024 GM Spatial Strategy.

There is also still time to try to influence the Local Plan itself, when it reopens for consultation next month.

Beyond the Neighbourhood, beyond Hulme… the Manchester Local Plan

The ten-year Manchester Local Plan is currently being prepared, and will go into ‘Regulation 19’, the final round of public consultation, on August 17th, for six weeks. 

From July onwards, SH4M is offering to run workshops for any community groups across Manchester who would like to scrutinise the Local Plan and raise objections or submit amendments.