Greater Manchester Combined Authority, GM Local Enterprise Partnership and the UK Government agreed the Greater Manchester Local Industrial Strategy in 2019
Activities supporting the implementation of the Greater Manchester Local Industrial Strategy have attracted £54.2m in funding from the Government’s Getting Building Fund.
The fund provides money for investment in local, shovel-ready infrastructure projects to stimulate jobs and support economic recovery across the country.
Creating thousands of jobs, introducing measures to reduce more than a million kilogrammes in C02 emissions, and providing support for business and apprentices, the projects selected demonstrate Greater Manchester’s ability to support the UK economy.
The GM LIS was agreed with Government in 2019 and outlines a set of long-term policy priorities to help guide industrial development and provides a plan for good jobs and growth in Greater Manchester. It emphasised Greater Manchester’s strengths in Health Innovation; Advanced Materials and Manufacturing; Digital, Creative and Media; and clean growth.
In August 2020 in response to covid-19, the UK government announced a £900 million Getting Building Fund to deliver jobs, skills and infrastructure across the country. This investment is being targeted in areas facing the biggest economic challenges as a result of the pandemic. It is supporting the delivery of shovel-ready infrastructure projects, agreed with mayors and Local Enterprise Partnerships to boost economic growth, and fuel local recovery and jobs.
In Greater Manchester, £54.2m has been provided to for seven projects which will unlock commercial space, create over 11,000 job opportunities, bring new superfast broadband, open commercial opportunities in Rochdale and Stockport and create new apprenticeships and unlocks 1,060 houses.
Projects reflect GM LIS commitments to digital infrastructure and green growth.
The ‘shovel-ready’ Greater Manchester projects provided Getting Building Fund support are:
Manchester Innovation Activities Hub, Manchester (£4m):
Creation of a new build 90,000 sq ft commercial innovation workspace, vocational/life skills training for ‘hard-to-fill’ occupations and industry 4.0 training facility within the Oxford Road Corridor Enterprise Zone.
The building will incorporate low carbon technologies to be net zero carbon within the landlord areas. The building will support R&D intensive, businesses working in the areas of Industry 4.0, Digital Technology, Advanced Materials, Engineering and low Carbon.
Completion of Kingsway Business Park Northern Loop, Rochdale (£3.5m):
Kingsway Business Park is a 470-acre site next to Junction 21 M62. Kingsway is 60% of the way through its development period. When completed it would open 9.75 hectares of land for development providing a potential 850 jobs.
South Heywood Link Road, R (Michael Faraday Avenue) Rochdale (£10m):
Construction of the South Heywood Link Road Phase 1 (linking M62 J19 with the South Heywood Employment Area) to create improved access to an existing employment area and open up development sites capable of delivering up to 1000 new homes and 135,000 sqm of employment space.
Mayfield, Manchester (£23m):
Mayfield Park will be 7 acres of beautifully landscaped public park at the centre of one of the most significant, catalytic sustainable and green regeneration developments in the UK. This will unlock the development of 24 acres of central Manchester, derelict for decades, next to Piccadilly Train Station and will become a world class hub for enterprise start-ups and large corporates in 1.6m sq ft of commercial space, 1,500 homes with retail, food and drink facilities, delivering 13,000 new jobs and expected to £7bn in net economic benefit to the local economy over 10 years.
Port Salford Early Infrastructure Works, Salford (£6m):
This early works package would allow for acceleration of the Port Salford rail terminal project – to prepare a regionally significant site for logistics warehousing at Port Salford, adjacent to the A57, M60 and M62 and creation of a 28-acre rail freight terminal. This project includes the diversion of Salteye brook, site preparation including UU main diversion and works to progress securing freight paths from Network Rail to ensure Covid 19 delays are minimised for half of the consented warehousing. The indirect output of this work is accelerated delivery of commercial floorspace, jobs and the ability to link to international markets through the Manchester ship canal, a key sustainable gateway to and from the Port of Liverpool.
Stok – conversion of iconic empty high street retail unit into new workspace Stockport (£3.5m):
Stok is a project led by Glenbrook to repurpose the former Marks and Spencer building that has lain vacant in the heart of Stockport’s Merseyway Centre since 2018. The scheme will provide much needed new workspace in the town centre. This project aligns very closely to Stockport’s Future High Street Fund submission as an unfunded option. As well as diversifying the high street and generating footfall it contributes to the Greater Manchester LIS by proving quality space in a sustainable town centre location. It will create up to 500 new jobs in repurposed retail space. Roof mounted solar PV will ensure green recovery forms part of the proposals.
Stockport Exchange Phase 4 and Clean Energy Infrastructure, Stockport (£6.6m):
Stockport Exchange is an accessible business Hub located within the heart of the town centre and adjacent to Stockport station, within the Town Centre West Mayoral Development Corporation area. To date the partnership has already delivered, 3 phases comprising of two grade A offices, a 115-bed hotel, NCP car park and enhanced public realm. This project will see the acceleration of the programme of future phases of Stockport Exchange to incorporate green energy, job creation and improved public realm. A new build 400 space multi-storey car park (MSCP) is required to unlock Stockport Exchange Phase 4. The next phase will comprise of a Grade A, 70,000 sq ft office building. The MSCP will immediately release the next office development in the masterplan and will accelerate future phases as they will be more viable by not needing to carry the MSCP infrastructure costs. The scheme will also promote sustainable transport including cycling and walking. Clean local energy infrastructure will be built into the whole estate, with roof mounted solar car ports on the MSCP, up to 30EV charging points and retrofitted solar PV on the roofs of 2 Stockport Exchange Office and the Grand Central leisure centre. These schemes form part of the GM Unlocking Clean Energy consortium work and Evergreen wave 2 feasibility work.
The indicative outputs – which are locally reported – demonstrate Greater Manchester’s ability to support the UK in achieving key aims and ambitions, including:
Direct Jobs Created: 11,680
Construction Jobs Created: 1,876
Jobs Safeguarded: 5
New Apprenticeships: 45
Houses Unlocked: 1,060
Commercial Space Unlocked: 204,988 sqm
New Learning Space Unlocked 15,000 sqm
New Learners Assisted: 250
Businesses Assisted: 29
Roads/Cycle Lanes/Walkways Unlocked: 4.5km
R&D Floorspace: 15,800 sqm
Public Realm/ Green Space Created: 55,740 sqm
New superfast broadband connections: 1024
CO2 emissions saved: 1,055,000 kg
