Chris Findley is a town planner with long experience in local government ' in East Yorkshire, Leicester, St Helens, Sefton, and for the last 20 years in Salford. He grew up in the 'old town' of Britain's first new town, and not so far from the country's best known garden cities, which may have played its part in shaping his interest in town planning.. Since the year 2000 he has led Salford City Council's Planning service. During his time at Salford the City has moved from decline to major growth, and seen the transformation of Salford Quays/Media City, the growth of Salford's part of the City and Regional Centre, and major regeneration and development elsewhere as well. That growth is set to continue as Salford continues to play a key role in driving forward the growth of the GM economy. For over 10 years Chris has chaired the Greater Manchester Planning Officers Group, and under the evolving AGMA arrangements is the Planning lead for Greater Manchester. The devolution agreement changes the Planning context within Greater Manchester, with a statutory Greater Manchester Spatial Framework becoming the responsibility of the elected GM Mayor from May 2017. The framework will define the housing and employment growth requirements for Greater Manchester into the mid 2030's.
