AMENDED 10 FEBRUARY 2026

OLDHAM LOCAL PLAN
STATEMENT OF REPRESENTATION PROCEDURE AND AVAILABILITY OF DOCUMENTS

THE TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (LOCAL PLANNING) (ENGLAND) REGULATIONS 2012 – REGULATION 19

Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 Regulation 19: Oldham Local Plan: Publication Plan Statement of Representations Procedure (incorporating Availability of Documents). 

Notice is hereby given that Oldham Council has published, and is inviting comments on, the Oldham Local Plan: Publication Plan. Following approval at Council the Oldham Local Plan: Publication Plan will then be submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination. 

Subject matter and Geographical Area Covered

The Oldham Local Plan: Publication Plan covers the whole Borough except that part which falls within the Peak District National Park. 

The Plan will guide development in the Borough up to 2039. The main purposes of the Plan are to:
•	set out the non-strategic policies through which the Council will manage development coming forward and use to determine planning applications; 
•	identify designations, such as those for the protection of the Borough’s environmental and historical assets, our town centres, and employment areas; and
•	facilitate the development of supporting infrastructure, such as transport, education and utilities.

Once adopted, the Oldham Local Plan will form part of the statutory Development Plan for the Borough. It will be used to assess all planning applications across the Borough, excluding that part which falls within the Peak District National Park, alongside the:
•	Places for Everyone Joint Development Plan Document;
•	Greater Manchester Joint Waste Development Plan Document;  
•	Greater Manchester Joint Minerals Development Plan Document; and 
•	any neighbourhood plans that may come into force during the lifetime of the Plan. 

Period of Publication for Representations

Representations are invited between Wednesday 4 February 2026 to 11.59pm on Friday 27 March 2026. No representations will be considered after this time / date. 

How to view documents

The Oldham Local Plan: Publication Plan and supporting documents, including the Integrated Assessment (incorporating the Habitats Regulations Assessment), can be viewed on the council’s consultation portal at https://bigoldhamconvo.oldham.gov.uk/ and on the council’s website at  https://www.oldham.gov.uk/info/201233/local_plan_review

Hard copies of the Oldham Local Plan: Publication Plan and Integrated Assessment (incorporating the Habitats Regulations Assessment) can be found at:
•	the Borough’s libraries (for the latest details on library opening times please visit https://hla.oldham.gov.uk/libraries/local-libraries/); and the
•	Oldham Council Customer Service Centre, Spindles Shopping Centre, Oldham, OL1 1HD

If you would like to discuss the Oldham Local Plan: Publication Plan or ask any questions before making your representation, you can book a telephone appointment with a planning officer, or in-person at the Council’s Spindles Shopping Centre offices. To book an appointment please email spi.consultations@oldham.gov.uk or call 0161 770 4105. 

Making representations

Representations are invited between Wednesday 4 February 2026 to 11.59pm on Friday 27 March 2026. No representations will be considered after this time / date.

Representations can be made by:
•	preferably completing the online response form at https://bigoldhamconvo.oldham.gov.uk/
•	https://www.oldham.gov.uk/info/201233/local_plan_review 
•	alternatively, by downloading the response form available at and: 
o	emailing it to spi.consultations@oldham.gov.uk; or 
o	posting to: Strategic Planning and Information, Oldham Council, First Floor Reception, Spindles Shopping Centre, Oldham, OL1 1LA

Representations at this stage should only relate to the Oldham Local Plan: Publication Plan and its supporting documents which have been published alongside.

Comments received to previous stages of consultation on the Oldham Local Plan, have been summarised in the Statement of Consultation report, which will form part of the submission documentation. 

Whilst representations may be made on any point in respect of the Oldham Local Plan: Publication Plan and its supporting documents, only those pertaining to the legal and procedural requirements, and four tests of soundness, will be considered by the Inspector at the Examination. Plans are sound if they are: positively prepared; justified; effective; and consistent with national policy (as per the National Planning Policy Framework, paragraph 36).

Please refer to the representation guidance notes when preparing representations.

What Happens Next

Following the end of the period for making representations, Oldham Council intend to submit the Oldham Local Plan: Publication Plan to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, so that it can be assessed through an Examination in Public by an appointed Planning Inspector(s).

It will be the role of the Independent Planning Inspector(s) to examine whether the Plan meets the tests of soundness in the National Planning Policy Framework and all the relevant legislative requirements.

All representations received within the representation period will be submitted electronically to the Secretary of State for consideration by the Planning Inspector(s) as part of the Examination in Public. Comments, name and organisation will be published. Full details of how your information will be shared can be found in the Strategic Planning and Information Privacy Notice.

How to participate in the Examination

The representation form asks you to confirm whether you wish to participate in the Examination in Public and whether you wish to be notified of any of the following: 
•	Submission of the Oldham Local Plan: Publication Plan for independent examination.
•	Publication of the Inspector’s Report on the Examination of the Oldham Local Plan: Publication Plan.
•	The Adoption of the Oldham Local Plan.