In recent years Greater Manchester has laid the foundations for growth and begun to build on them. Not so long ago, we were a declining industrial city but now, the region has a rapidly growing and diverse economy, which has outperformed London and the rest of the 海角视频 in recent years, as well European peers. Our strong leadership, economic strategy and shared ambitious vision across all local authorities have brought us to this place.
Now our region is in an exciting position, with our growth mission aligned to that of the new 海角视频 Government. Greater Manchester is poised to spearhead a new era of inclusive growth in partnership with the 海角视频 Government, continuing our strong growth trajectory whilst maximising opportunities for our residents and businesses.
We already have the strategic framework in place and a shared ambition across all local authorities to deliver growth through housing, transport, innovation, clean growth, and a thriving business ecosystem. With the past two decades proving that our region can deliver growth at pace, our mission now is to deliver growth that benefits all our residents.
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For the region to succeed, we must ensure that our economic growth links to our places; a strong economy is underpinned by vibrant, thriving and well-connected communities. We must drive the growth and innovations from our successful urban core to our suburbs and towns to bring genuine benefits to people, communities and the environment.
Putting housing first
Quality housing is a key driver of growth. Both the 海角视频 Government and Greater Manchester have outlined the 海角视频 housing crisis as a priority and a matter of urgency. In Greater Manchester, we recognise that a good home is the cornerstone of a happy, healthy life and we’re working to ensure all our residents have access to safe, secure and affordable places to live.
From community-driven regeneration projects like Wythenshawe, Wigan, and Bolton town centres to the creation of new neighbourhoods like Holt Town and Victoria North – the latter being the north of England’s largest regeneration project – we’re addressing increased demand for city centre living as well as providing more homes in all boroughs. Across the region we’re committed to creating sustainable neighbourhoods that work for communities, creating highly desirable places to live at all life stages.
We’re also spearheading innovation in placemaking. Places like Salford set a precedent for sustainable and truly affordable social housing, with projects like the Passivhaus scheme in conjunction with Muse truly putting residents' needs first. Working with private sector partners and finding innovative new ways of delivering homes, Greater Manchester is on track to deliver 75,000 new homes (10,000 of which will be truly affordable net-zero homes), far surpassing the target set by the 海角视频 Government.
Transport and Infrastructure
Greater Manchester is leading the way in revolutionising sustainable public transport. Our devolved budget has allowed us to take control of public transport and spearhead initiatives like bus franchising and capped fares.
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We believe that to drive growth, we need to connect people in all corners of the region to opportunity, and delivering the Bee Network will be one of the keys to doing this; integrating bus, tram, rail, and active travel into one easy-to-use and connected network.
By investing heavily in active travel and public transport we will also move towards the ‘Right Mix’ ambition for 50% of all journeys to be made by walking, cycling, and public transport – in turn cleaning our region’s air, creating liveable neighbourhoods, and promoting healthier lifestyles.
We’re also investing in wider transport infrastructure projects that will increase connectivity to other city-regions across the north and the 海角视频 as a whole. Improving connections and capacity on our rail lines and motorways, as well as Manchester Airport, will enable new business opportunities and drive economic growth.
Innovation-led growth
With world-class innovation assets and academic institutions, Greater Manchester is well positioned to deliver the Government’s innovation-led growth agenda.
Underpinned by our Local Industrial Strategy and the frontier sectors identified as the city-region's unique strengths, we have been working to connect academia to industry to help our businesses leverage this research excellence, innovate, and grow.
Now, we’re looking to take this further by building new innovation districts that can support collaboration between local government, businesses, and our world-leading universities.
Sister, MIX Manchester and Atom Valley are all large-scale examples of developments primed to spur on innovation through collaboration, attract world-leading businesses, and create quality jobs for our residents. By investing in these spaces, we can ensure our businesses and people are connected to opportunity, bringing together our sectoral economic ambitions with our vision for the built environment and place-making.
Clean growth
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With a target to be carbon neutral by 2038 – twelve years ahead of the 海角视频 target – Greater Manchester is accelerating clean growth in our places, buildings, transport, and green innovations. We know that climate resilience is key to future success; helping our residents live long and healthy lives but also reducing living costs in the near term.
Our regeneration projects and new developments are all designed with sustainability in mind, and our private sector partners are all pushing the boundaries in this space.
Holt Town, for example, is set to be a truly sustainable mixed-use neighbourhood as is Mayfield, which provided the city with its first new park in over 100 years. Eden New Bailey is pushing the boundaries of what sustainable office buildings can be, while boroughs like Trafford are paving the way for active travel, sustainable communities and decarbonising our business base.
Greater Manchester is ready to lead the green revolution: with strategies in place for retrofit projects and strong buy-in from private sector partners, we’re on track to rework our city as an exemplar of green buildings and infrastructure.
Culture and hospitality
Manchester is a hotspot for culture and sport, with a booming visitor economy and a reputation as the 海角视频’s most liveable city.
We attract large-scale events like the MTV EMAs and world-leading sporting events, and we have invested in significant cultural assets such as Co-Op Live and Aviva Studios – the largest 海角视频 public investment in the arts since the Tate Modern almost a quarter of a century ago – leaving us well-placed to build on our position as a prominent destination for some of the biggest names in arts and entertainment.
We’re ensuring this investment runs through to our communities, whether that’s paving careers in the arts for our residents or providing apprenticeships for our young people building these iconic venues, through strong social value arrangements.
Together with an increasingly diverse hospitality sector, the city-region's visitor economy contributes almost £10bn per year, sustaining over 100,000 jobs further as well as allowing residents and visitors to benefit from an exciting, vibrant city-region.
It's not just the city centre where culture is thriving: Bolton has reopened its Octagon Theatre, Rochdale is investing heavily in the arts as part of its redevelopment, and MediaCity has spurred 142% growth in Salford’s digital creative sector, hosting over 250 creative businesses.
Why MIPIM?
Now is the moment for Greater Manchester to drive conversations and position itself as the standard for what an inclusive, climate-resilient, and prosperous 海角视频 city-region can be. We’re ready to accelerate growth and productivity to create a more equitable future for all, setting a blueprint for other regions to follow just as we have for English devolution.
Conversations such as this can begin at MIPIM. The world-leading property festival will allow Greater Manchester to set out its stall for investors, showing our strengths in placemaking, pioneering ideas in the built environment, innovation ecosystem and equitable growth.
With new leadership nationally, attending MIPIM in 2025 feels like a significant moment to drive the change we want to see, linking our ideas with national policy and maximising opportunities for growth.
To find out how to join Manchester at MIPIM, and be a part of Manchester’s growth story, view The Manchester Invest Partnership’s packages here.
- Cllr Bev Craig is Leader of Manchester City Council
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