Places for Everyone: How GM's Spatial Framework Impacts Development Finance

What Is Places for Everyone?

Places for Everyone (PfE) is the joint development plan for nine of the ten Greater Manchester local authorities (Stockport withdrew from the process). The plan sets out a spatial strategy for housing, employment, and infrastructure investment across the sub-region through to 2037. For property developers, PfE is a critical document that determines where development is directed, what types of schemes are supported, and how planning applications will be assessed.

Key PfE Provisions for Developers

Housing Allocations

PfE allocates land for approximately 165,000 new homes across the nine authorities. These allocations include both brownfield and greenfield sites, with a strong emphasis on brownfield-first development within existing urban areas.

For development finance purposes, sites within PfE housing allocations benefit from:

Employment and Mixed-Use Allocations

PfE also allocates land for employment and mixed-use development. Developers pursuing live-work, residential-above-commercial, or conversion schemes should check whether their site falls within a PfE allocation that supports their proposed use.

Green Belt Changes

PfE proposes the release of some Green Belt land for development — a politically sensitive but pragmatically necessary response to housing need. Sites released from the Green Belt will typically require masterplanning and infrastructure investment before individual parcels become available for development.

Impact on Manchester and Salford

Manchester and Salford are the two largest authorities within PfE and account for the highest proportion of housing allocations:

Manchester

PfE reinforces the city's existing growth areas:

Salford

Key Salford allocations include:

Impact on Development Finance

Positive Impacts

Considerations

Senior development finance applications for PfE-allocated sites benefit from the policy support, but lenders will still assess each project on its individual merits. Mezzanine finance and JV equity are available for larger schemes within PfE allocation areas.

How to Use PfE in Your Development Strategy

1. Check allocations: Identify whether your target site or area is within a PfE allocation 2. Understand policies: Review the specific PfE policies that apply to your site 3. Reference PfE in applications: Cite PfE support in both planning applications and development finance applications 4. Plan ahead: For longer-term PfE sites, consider land banking or option agreements

Use our development finance calculator to model projects on PfE-allocated sites, or contact us to discuss how the spatial framework affects your development finance strategy.