GM mayor’s £10bn regen strategy promises growth ‘at a scale not seen before’
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has announced a 10-year Growth and Prevention Delivery Plan to deliver its regeneration ambitions across all 10 boroughs.
The £10bn, decade-long investment plan, unveiled today, has three core fundamentals: the establishment of an integrated pipeline of projects, ensuring the delivery capability exists, and the creation of a single Greater Manchester investment pot to fund projects within the city region’s growth locations.
An integrated pipeline would bring together transport, housing, innovation, and the net zero economy to allow the GMCA to align its investments for varying parts of the region over the next 10 years.
The GMCA plans to create the GM Delivery Vehicle, a body that will oversee the pipeline and ensure projects come to pass. The vehicle will work with developers, investors, and construction firms to ensure everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet.
Greater Manchester’s ambitious regeneration plans cannot be delivered without a large and skilled workforce. To that end, plans for GM Academy – aimed at funnelling regeneration and development professionals into the city region through partnerships with private sector companies, academia, and charity Regeneration Brainery – are in the works.
As well as its own devolved integrated settlement, the GMCA recognises that contributions from bodies such as the National Wealth Fund and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund will be required to fund the pipeline.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: “Greater Manchester is ready to kickstart a new decade of growth at the heart of a resurgent North.
“We’ve used our devolved powers to deliver the biggest change in public transport since the ‘80s. Now we’ll use them to deliver transformative regeneration across our city region.”
He continued: “With the backing of Government and private investors, we can do even more and add an extra £13 billion a year to the UK economy.
“Our plan will deliver urban regeneration at a pace and scale not seen before in my lifetime and rebalance the rewards of growth across the UK.”
With sufficient government backing, 75,000 homes could be delivered in Greater Manchester during this parliament.
Six growth locations will be targeted with a place-based approach to unlock land, attract £10bn of investment, and speed up regeneration.
Western Gateway
The Western Gateway is home to the Old Trafford Regeneration Scheme, the Carrington redevelopment, Peel’s Trafford Waters, and Port Salford, which has the potential to link Manchester’s businesses to the world.
Old Trafford Stadium’s regeneration is underway, with the club mulling over the decision to either revamp the existing ground into an 87,000-capacity arena or build a new 100,000-seater stadium.
The scheme has the potential to be the largest sports-led regeneration project since Stratford’s transformation for the 2012 London Olympics, adding £7.3bn to the UK economy.
Proposals for a Mayoral Development Corporation to unlock the regeneration of Old Trafford are being explored.
Central Growth Cluster
Plans focussing on Manchester and Salford’s city centres target the creation of 90,000 jobs and 58,000 homes. Sister and Crescent Salford, as well as Holt Town and Victoria North all come under the Central Growth Cluster’s umbrella.
Airport and Southern Growth Corridor
Burnham claims Stockport’s MDC has set out the blueprint for town centre regeneration having attracted £600m from private investors completed 1,200 homes, 170,000 sq ft of Grade A office space, and a new transport interchange.
It has long been the intention to maximise the international connectivity offered by Manchester Airport, with industrial schemes both proposed and in development around the terminal.
North East Growth Corridor
Atom Valley, a Mayoral Development Zone driving growth and innovation in advanced materials and manufacturing, and Northern Gateway, where there’s the potential for 13m sq ft of employment space make up the North East Growth Corridor.
Wigan and Bolton Growth Corridor
Plans for 12,000 new homes and green spaces as well as a new Health Innovation Campus linked to the Royal Bolton Hospital.
Eastern Growth Cluster
Development opportunities earmarked are Ashton Moss, St. Petersfield, and Ashton Town Centre following the creation of Ashton’s Mayoral Development Zone.
Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, and Greater Manchester lead for economy, business, and inclusive growth, said: “Now is the time to lay the foundations for the next decade, a decade where everyone benefits from our growth.
“Our dynamic, innovation-led economy is harnessing the power of our world-leading industries, universities, and public-private partnerships, making Greater Manchester the best place in the UK to invest and do business.
“But we know we still have so much untapped potential, so that’s why we are rolling up our sleeves and doing things differently to bring in much-needed investment.”
She added: “This is a long-term plan to make people’s lives better, building on our proven track record of removing blockers to growth and catalysing development that will bring transformative benefits to towns and cities across our city region.”
The Growth and Prevention Delivery Plan will be finalised by spring 2025.
75,000 new homes – so say 150,000 to 200,000 more people trying to navigate this borough on gridlocked roads, already overcrowded trams on a single central line and bottlenecked trains. I appreciate they cannot plan for what they cannot afford but central government need to invest in our infrastructure and they needed to 40 years ago.
By Anonymous
Some phenomenal numbers representing an impressive scale of ambition. This should be supported at the national level as it will create economic growth for the whole UK.
By Anonymous
I can see about the growth stuff, but what is it that Andy and Bev are hoping to prevent in this Growth & Prevention Delivery Strategy? Shrinkage?
By Confused
Divisive, economically abstracting, exclusive ultra capitalist ambitions are reflecting not of a great urban centre, but of a country that has lost its way.
So many people, and what do they do but get paid (directly or indirectly by taxpayers) to shuffle paper?
A growing number of lucky individuals in Manchester get to dine at the Ivy as thousands more struggle to afford basic housing. And that’s not even counting the devastation caused to neighbouring locations, whose populations are expected to pay thousands each year to access the only job market allowed to thrive, as their own communities fall to bits.
Either we’re a nation or we’re not. If we’re not then we should all be allowed to go our separate ways.
By Jeff
Blah,blah,blah! Burnham even states his biggest contribution in all the time he’s been in post is ” yellow buses “…
By Manc
Burnham is almost creating an alternative powerbase. Whether you like him or not, the ambition to is mightily impressive,
By Elephant
Do not put your few eggs in too many baskets. Cancel “Atom Valley” investment program. Concept too woolly, name too silly.
By James Yates
What does wigan get in all of this.We haven’t even got a direct bus service
into Manchester.
By Anonymous
The Development of Greater Manchester is devisive because it doesn’t include Liverpool? You can’t make this stuff up. Don’t worry , stick around long enough and we’ll expand west. Andy B is on the way !
By Doh!
Manchester is becoming London 2.0 and all this ‘investment’ makes the city a busier, expensive, more overcrowded place with no investment in transport capacity.
By Quail
It’s so refreshing and exciting to see a growth mindset embraced by those in a position to make a real impact! If this approach were more common, our country might not face the challenges we do today.
By Andee
Sounds impressive. No mention of Bury and the redevelopment that is taking ages to get started. I personally would like to see some funds being used to give us clean streets and pavements being repaired so you can walk without fear of tripping up.
By Chris
Meanwhile in Liverpool ………………..zilch /zero /nada , officers wringing their hands over an application for a house extension, its lamentable the way Liverpool has been left in the wake of Manchester.
By Anonymous
Oh come on Manc 1.02pm. Reintegrating the buses back under public control was/is fiendishly complex and a massive achievement. Elephant is right; the scale of ambition is impressive.
By Anonymous
These plans are fantastic and transformative. I love the ambition of Andy Burnham, other politicians, officers, and the private sector in Greater Manchester. I’ve no doubt that over the next 10 years all these projects and more will be delivered. Meanwhile, over in Liverpool, I predict that in 2035, yet another report on the development potential of the derelict festival garden will be commissioned.
By Anonymous
Classic GM strategy, it’s growth story, and it just happens we have a central government that desperately wants and needs a growth story. Good policy and good politics.
By Rich X
@Anonymous
Continuation of the relief road from the M6 to M58. Its reached Westwood from the M6 today and would continue south around Hindley then through Westhoughton to the M58. Will take loads of traffic out of the congested Wigan and Hindley town centres.
By Watcherzero
GM Pension Fund should not have to fund any of this.
The money should come from Central Government.
By Hit The Crossbar
Your rant against Capitalism has been noted Jeff. However a Building and Development site is not the most likely venue to even pay the slightest attention . Most of us quite enjoy making a living doing this 😉
By Anonymous
This is highly commendable, it seems like a tall dream. But with what the GMCA has achieved recently, I believe that they will actualise all these within stipulated time. Great work Andy Burnham and his team at the GMCA.
By Abdulkareem
Hit the crossbar – The GM pension fund will not be funding these projects as a grant they will be investing to get a profitable return for their membership.
By Anonymous
There really is no point in bolton and wigan being part of GM. we have got nothing out of it since 1974 apart from our town centre’s decline and in boltons case it is terminal. They should leave GM and merge as the south lancashire combined authority in the hope of resurrection from death!
By Jay
Manchester is an absolute powerhouse now. The scale of some of this is mind boggling given what’s already happened in the past 25 years. Now, if we can link the rest of the north into this we have a chance of rebalancing a country and an economy badly in need of a shake up.
By Anonymous
Successive governments have always privileged the golden triangle London-Oxford-Cambridge much to the detriment of the rest of the country. In a post Brexit Britain, all the major cities in the UK should be privileged if the UK does not want to be gobbled up by china/US. The duo Manchester/Liverpool could become not only the wealthiest region in the UK but also one of the wealthiest in the Europe.
By John