Greater Manchester leaders pitch for investment at international property conference

Greater Manchester leaders have used their platform at international property conference, MIPIM, to pitch the city-region’s growth plans and attract investment.

City-region leaders met global investors at the annual MIPIM conference in Cannes, France, to make the case for how investment in new homes and infrastructure can deliver future growth across Greater Manchester and promote plans for growth.

At the heart of Greater Manchester’s 10-year plans is the creation of a single integrated pipeline for growth, which would target investment at six Growth Locations across the city-region, including in Stockport within the wider Airport and Southern Growth Corridor. These nationally significant sites with the biggest potential to boost growth and deliver benefits across all 10 boroughs. The integrated pipeline will bring together transport, housing, innovation, and the net-zero economy to deliver well-connected developments and pave the way for new investment to unlock jobs and growth.

Greater Manchester is also working on a new approach to attract and retain the best regeneration talent – bringing forward a stream of specialists that can tackle challenges ranging from planning to construction law, and architecture to surveying.

Other projects set out at the conference include regeneration plans for Old Trafford that will deliver 17,000 new homes, 48,000 jobs and boost the economy by £7.3 billion.

Alongside counterparts from the Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham (pictured left, alongside Trafford Council leader, Cllr Tom Ross) and GMCA Economy Lead, Cllr Bev Craig, also made the case for investment in Manchester to Liverpool rail links, and their potential to deliver economic growth across the North of England to rival the Oxford-Cambridge corridor in the South.

Andy Burnham said:

“Greater Manchester is the UK’s fastest-growing economy, and it’s only right that we are at the heart of Europe’s biggest investment summit making the case for our city-region.

“With our devolved powers, our new integrated settlement, and our unique pipeline for maximising growth, we’ve got the ingredients that make this the best place to invest – helping us to deliver the new homes and jobs that we need.”