Sir Richard Leese 2038 Zero Carbon Target Manchester Council

Greater Manchester’s push to become zero carbon by 2038 is worth pushing ahead with, even though it poses risks for the local economy, the city council’s longstanding leader has said.

Speaking at our Greater Manchester Development Conference, Sir Richard Leese identified the target to hit net zero 12 years ahead of government targets for the UK is one of the “key challenges” facing the conurbation.

“Anyone who imagines being low carbon by 2038 is going to be easy, they’re not living in the same world that I am.” [emaillocker id=”71749″]

But adding that he would like to adopt an “even earlier” target, he said: “There are risks to the economy in that, but we want to do it in a way that grows, rather than shrinks the economy. Those are the kind of challenges that Greater Manchester is up for and the sort of challenges that will keep us a leading global city.”

Sir Richard said another challenge is to provide the “right mix of housing, particularly for those on low incomes”. across Manchester.

The conurbation’s sustainable development relies on bringing back into use brownfield sites around its approximately 90 town centres, he said: “We can swallow huge chunks of green belt. Or if we have high quality brown field development around city and town centres, we can create sustainable city region.

“The quality of life you can get in Ancoats can be replicated in towns across Greater Manchester. If they all can offer that quality of life what a city region we would have.”

The adoption of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, which was delayed following elected mayor Andy Burnham’s decision to carry out a review over concerns about encroachment on the green belt, will “help to give certainty” to developers even though it will take another “couple of years”, Sir Richard said.

And he predicted that towns like Altrincham will see the same kind of “really ambitious plans”, like in Stockport, where housing is being brought back into the town centre.

In a progress report on development in Manchester itself, Sir Richard said it on track this to exceed 1.2m sq ft of commercial development , which was last achieved half a decade ago, while the delivery of new homes is “on course to match if not beat” the previous record tally.

But while emphasising the importance of long-term transport plans, like the Northern Powerhouse Rail to upgrade train services across the north, more immediate improvements are important too, he said: “We cannot wait for the investment that we need.” [/emaillocker]