MIPIM GALLERY | How SMEs are transforming the North of England

Cabinet approval will be sought next week as officers look to advance regeneration in Prescot with Cityheart, and in Huyton with Genr8 Kajima.

Former housing minister Lord Gavin Barwell is now the figurehead of the town’s Mayoral Development Corporation, newly expanded this year.

The Secretary of State has sided with a Planning Inspector’s verdict that permission should be refused for the 545-home redevelopment of the Heath Business and Technical Park.

Mayors, city leaders, and Combined Authority officials from across the Midlands, the North of England, and Scotland used a roundtable hosted by Place North to argue that the UK’s next wave of growth will be driven by regional cities, highlighting opportunities in AI, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and housing, while calling for deeper devolution and stronger infrastructure investment.

Why is it so difficult to get to grips with regeneration, and what is ‘good growth’? This interactive session held by Studio Hoodless, Civic, and Layer Studio brought the industry together to brainstorm how they can be delivered effectively across the North of England and beyond.

Hot on the heels of planning permission for a 28-storey block at the Liverpool cluster being advanced by Davos and Beetham, the SimpsonHaugh-designed centrepiece of the scheme has been unveiled.

Working with Trafford Council and GMCA, the developer is plotting a 1,200-home neighbourhood at the former police headquarters in Old Trafford.

Liverpool City Council and the University of Liverpool have launched a consultation ahead of development, with R&D facilities, green space and re-establishing Crown Street as a main connection front of mind.

Manchester City Council has appointed a joint venture between the investor and the developer to deliver 145 homes in the Manchester neighbourhood.

Manchester City Council is close to a deal to purchase Bernard Manning’s former comedy club, which it wants to replace with a health centre as Harpurhey regeneration plans fall into place.

The former ‘Minister for Merseyside’ is seen as one of the founding fathers of English devolution but the 92-year-old lacks confidence that a more decentralised society is around the corner, declaring today that the country remains “very badly run”.

Growth across the 10 boroughs that make up GM is outpacing the national average but leaders in places like Bolton, Oldham, and Rochdale are still fighting hard to overcome intracity region disparities. Participants at a roundtable discussion hosted by Euan Kellie Property Solutions explored how best to close the gap.

The group’s order book has also swelled to £19.1bn over the last 12 months, while revenue rose 10% to more than £5bn.

As Greater Manchester lines up equivalent zones across the city region, its first Mayoral Development Corporation will see its boundary tripled to cover the whole town centre.

The local authority is seeking to offload further properties and set up joint ventures for others, with details of the 2026-27 disposal programme now revealed.

Part of the £29m Millom Town Deal, a visitor centre at Hodbarrow Nature Reserve will be a feature of the coastal walkway, and is the standout item on a planning agenda also featuring a Premier Inn, a care home and affordable housing.

The long-awaited attraction, expected to act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the coastal resort, could finally get going this year after Lancaster City Council gave the go-ahead to the “recalibrated” proposal.

The council’s cabinet housing committee has signed off backing for four developments to be progressed by Stockport Homes Group, with a combined value of £57.4m.

A dining destination is to be created within two vacant and one soon-to-be-vacant retail units on Hale Top as part of the ongoing regeneration of the civic centre.