Draft Local Plan
Our borough is growing and we need a new statutory local plan to shape and guide future growth and development and set out a vision for more prosperous, inclusive and sustainable communities.
The local plan will form part of the statutory development plan for the borough alongside Places for Everyone and the Greater Manchester Joint Waste and Minerals Plans.
Places for Everyone (PfE) is a strategic plan for 9 of the 10 Greater Manchester districts. It was adopted in March 2024 and provides the framework within which the participating districts need to develop their own local plans.
The Rochdale Borough Local Plan will provide a more detailed set of local planning policies to complement the strategic policies within PfE. Once adopted, it will replace the Core Strategy and saved policies in the Unitary Development Plan.
In 2024, the council gave notice of its intention to prepare a local plan and invited comments on what the plan should contain, the scope of the Integrated Assessment, and issued a call for sites. The responses to the initial consultation have been considered and summarised in a Consultation Report which is published alongside the draft local plan.
In December 2025, we sought views on a Regulation 18 draft local plan. The consultation closed on 5 February 2026.
- Download full draft local plan
- Download a PDF of the draft local plan policies map
- View online interactive draft local plan policies map
Next steps
We're currently reviewing the consultation responses and will prepare a final version of the Local Plan for consultation in Summer 2026.
We will then submit the plan for examination by a planning inspector, before adopting the plan in 2027.
Supporting documents
As part of this consultation, we would also welcome your views on the following documents which have been prepared to support the plan:
- Integrated Assessment – incorporating Sustainability Appraisal, Strategic Environmental Assessment, Equalities Impacts Assessment, and Health Impact Assessment
- Habitats Regulations Assessment
Draft local plan topic papers
We have prepared a series of topic papers to provide background information on the policies. We will continue to update these as we gather more information and evidence prior to consulting on the final plan in 2026. Please see below:
- Economy
- Housing
- Town Centres
- A Greener Place
- Climate and Flood Risk
- Connected Places
- Communities
- Design and Heritage
Consultation Statement
This Consultation Statement explains how Rochdale Council has undertaken consultation in the production of the draft Local Plan and how we will consult going forward. It includes a summary of the initial regulation 18 consultation in June 2024, which has helped inform the draft local plan.
How to stay informed
If you want to stay informed about all aspects of the Rochdale Borough Local Plan, you can register your interest by emailing strategic.planning@rochdale.gov.uk.
You can also telephone 01706 924252.