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The city council has approved local funding for the connectivity project, and will now seek to confirm £485,000 from the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Challenge Fund.

The city-region will be the first outside London to bring bus services under local control, as part of Mayor Andy Burnham’s quest to implement an integrated transport network across Greater Manchester.

With mayoral elections looming in May, candidates of various political stripes hope to break Labour’s hold over the Manchester and Liverpool city regions, but whether less experienced contenders can break the current monopolies remains to be seen. 

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has recommended the mayor approves plans to introduce bus franchising across the city region, scrapping the current privately operated system.

Peel L&P’s proposed multi-modal terminal on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal has been included in Liverpool City Region’s bid for ‘freeport’ status, despite it being in Greater Manchester.

Nine Greater Manchester local authorities are preparing to form a committee to progress the alternative Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, dubbed Places for Everyone. 

A scheme to convert the former Argos unit in Mersey Square into a cultural and social hub is likely to go ahead despite ongoing concerns over the future of the town’s Central Library. 

An outline business case for a £35m package of projects on the key South Manchester route is being prepared for submission to the Department for Transport in March.

The council has moved to tweak a string of development management policies and pushed back formal adoption of the first part of its plan until June 2022.