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Event Details

Thursday 3 September 2026, 8:00 - 12:00

Bridgewater Hall, Lower Mosley St, Manchester M2 3WS

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Greater Manchester Development Update 2026

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Place’s most popular annual conference, this event brings together the people shaping the future of the city region, regarded as the engine room of the Northern economy.

This unmissable event will dig into how Greater Manchester’s Good Growth Fund really works with the people who created it, get under the skin of the planning system with the country’s top planning barrister, and analyse the opportunities hiding within the recently launched £7.3bn Old Trafford masterplan.

Speakers confirmed include

Cllr Bev Craig, Leader MCC c, Manchester City Council ()

Bev Craig

Mayor of Greater Manchester

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Bev Craig

Mayor of Greater Manchester

Bev Craig is the new Mayor of Greater Manchester, replacing Andy Burnham, who left the post to return to Westminster as MP for Makerfield before becoming Prime Minister. She was formerly Leader of Manchester City Council from 2021
Cllr Bev Craig, Leader MCC c, Manchester City Council ()
Chris Oglesby, Bruntwood, p Citypress

Chris Oglesby

chief executive officer, Bruntwood

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Chris Oglesby

chief executive officer, Bruntwood

Oglesby is chief executive officer of Bruntwood and Bruntwood SciTech, working at the company since 1991 and acting as CEO for over 25 years. He has overseen the growth of the business to one that owns over £1.5bn of commercial property across the city regions of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds. Growing up in Manchester, Oglesby has a commitment to creating a city that thrives and has played an active role in many partnerships. These include Oxford Road Corridor Partnership, Manchester Business Sounding Board which he chairs, and as a founding member of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership. He is also a Trustee of The Oglesby Charitable Trust, which works with more than 40 community-based charities a year and has distributed over £30m.
Chris Oglesby, Bruntwood, p Citypress
Chris Katkowski, KC p KC

Christopher Katkowski

barrister, Kings Chambers

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Christopher Katkowski

barrister, Kings Chambers

Katkowski received a CBE for services to Planning in the New Years Honours List 2025, he is ranked in the top tier of planning silks in The Legal 500 UK Bar Guide 2026 and has topped Planning magazine's annual survey as the No. 1 planning QC / KC a record 12 times. Chris’ caseload is diverse. As Planning Magazine says – he has “seen it all [and] done it all”.
Chris Katkowski, KC p KC
Tony Walsh, Senior Strategic Advisor, Investment & Advisory

Tony Walsh

senior strategic advisor, The National Wealth Fund

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Tony Walsh

senior strategic advisor, The National Wealth Fund

Walsh is senior strategic advisor for Local Authorities, providing guidance to senior leaders across major regional authorities. He is also co-head of Advisory, and responsible for The National Wealth Fund's wider Regional Project Accelerator initiative. Walsh is a strategic board advisor and green finance specialist with extensive experience in corporate banking and public-private partnerships. He spent 38 years at Barclays, including running the UK Corporate Bank, covering clients from SME to PLC with a particular emphasis on funding requirements in the private and public markets.
Tony Walsh, Senior Strategic Advisor, Investment & Advisory
Cllr Tom Ross(x)

Cllr Tom Ross

Leader, Trafford Council

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Cllr Tom Ross

Leader, Trafford Council

Ross became the Leader of Trafford Council in January 2023 and is portfolio lead for Green City-Region at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. He was first elected to Trafford Council in 2008 and represents Stretford & Humphrey Park Ward. He has held several roles on the Council, including executive member for finance since 2019 and he has overseen each Council budget since then.
Cllr Tom Ross(x)
Colin Thomasson, CBRE p CBRE v

Colin Thomasson

executive director, investment, CBRE

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Colin Thomasson

executive director, investment, CBRE

Thomasson is an executive director and head of UK investment properties & capital markets at CBRE, based in Manchester. He leads CBRE’s capital markets activity across the UK with a particular focus on the North of England. Thomasson specialises in connecting institutional capital with strategic development opportunities, including major regeneration and mixed-use schemes. He works closely with LGPS funds, sovereign capital, and leading developers to structure place-led investment across multiple asset classes.
Colin Thomasson, CBRE p CBRE v
Paul Eaton p, Allies and Morrison

Paul Eaton

partner, Allies and Morrison

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Paul Eaton

partner, Allies and Morrison

Eaton leads many of the practice’s masterplanning projects, guiding their early-stage visioning and strategy, developing character, grain, and connections for new pieces of city. Eaton has led masterplan teams for Sister Manchester, a new innovation campus in the heart of the city, in addition to the design of its first new commercial buildings. He is also leading the strategic masterplan for the regeneration of the 370-acre Trafford Wharfside as well as a range of the practice’s workplace, education and housing projects in London, Cambridge and Dublin.
Paul Eaton p, Allies and Morrison
Laura Blakey p, GMCA

Laura Blakey

director of strategic finance & investment, Greater Manchester Combined Authority

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Laura Blakey

director of strategic finance & investment, Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Blakey is the director of strategic finance & investment at Greater Manchester Combined Authority where she oversees the deployment of Greater Manchester’s own investment funds, with direct experience of investing across a broad range of public and private sector schemes and initiatives. Blakey is a Chartered Accountant and prior to the GMCA worked at KPMG for 13 years.
Laura Blakey p, GMCA
Rebecca Coley headshot

Rebecca Coley

head of planning & development, Trafford Council

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Rebecca Coley

head of planning & development, Trafford Council

Coley joined Trafford in 2016 as Head of Planning and Development. She has over 20 years’ experience in local government and is an advocate for public sector planning. Whilst at Trafford she has delivered award-winning projects, including the Civic Quarter Area Action Plan and the innovative digital Trafford Design Code. She is currently devoting most of her time to Old Trafford Regeneration and is leading the work on the Wharfside Strategic Masterplan, which includes a new stadium for Manchester United and 15,000 homes. Coley is passionate about design and quality in the built environment and promoting female leadership and influence.
Rebecca Coley headshot
result AsteerPlanning Headshots

Jon Suckley

managing partner, Asteer Planning

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Jon Suckley

managing partner, Asteer Planning

Suckley founded Asteer Planning in April 2021. His specialism is providing strategic planning advice on significant and complex development projects. His experience includes advising FEC and Manchester City Council on the regeneration of the 155 hectare Victoria North in Manchester, Story Homes on the redevelopment of the Former Camelot Theme Park; Russell / Harworth JV on the redevelopment of the JPA1.2 PfE Allocation in Bury / Rochdale for 1,500 new homes, local centre and school and Stockport County Football Club on the expansion of Edgeley Park to 20,000 seats.
result AsteerPlanning Headshots

Companies attending in 2026

Deloitte, Eversheds Sutherland, Pinsent Masons, WSP, Arcadis, Turner & Townsend, Morgan Sindall Construction, Galliford Try, Kier Construction, Homes England, Mott MacDonald, Stantec, HDR, McGuireWoods, DAC Beachcroft, Addleshaw Goddard, DeSimone Consulting Engineering, Trowers & Hamlins, Arbuthnot Latham & Co, Paragon Banking Group, Gleeds, Ryder Architecture, Curtins, Turley, Hilson Moran, Donald Insall Associates, Lovell Partnerships, Wates Construction West, Peel Land, Drees & Sommer and many more.

Agenda

8:00 am

Arrival, networking & breakfast

9:00 am

Welcome from Dan Whelan, editor, Place North West

9:05 am

Presentation: Chris Oglesby, chief executive officer, Bruntwood

9:20 am

Panel discussion: Inside the Good Growth Fund

Bev Craig, Mayor of Greater Manchester

Tony Walsh, senior strategic advisor, The National Wealth Fund

Laura Blakey, director of strategic finance & investment, Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Colin Thomasson, executive director, investment, CBRE

10:05 am

Panel discussion: Planning unpicked

Christopher Katkowski, barrister, Kings Chambers

Jon Suckley, managing director, Asteer Planning

Rebecca Coley, head of planning & development, Trafford Council

10:20 am

Refreshment and networking break

10:45 am

Presentation: Paul Eaton, partner, Allies and Morrison

11:00 am

Panel discussion: Old Trafford Regeneration: a once-in-a-generation chance for change

Paul Eaton, partner, Allies and Morrison

Cllr Tom Ross, Leader, Trafford Council

12:00 pm

Closing remarks, lunch and further networking

Tickets cost £125+VAT. Local authorities and registered providers can purchase tickets at a 50% discount.

There will be a mix of presentations and panels. Breakfast and lunch are included, providing plenty of opportunity for business development.

To discuss partnership opportunities please contact [email protected]

Book using the form below – if you can’t see the form, please contact [email protected]

Media Pack 2026

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