Greater Manchester Mayor sets out plans for industrial growth clusters across the city-region

Mayor Andy Burnham used a keynote speech at a conference organised by the Institute for Fiscal Studies and UCL, to set out a plan to create and develop five growth-driving clusters across the city region.

Clusters will be at the heart of a plan to reindustrialise the city-region, and bring through a new generation of high-skilled workers in high-value jobs of the future. Plans will capitalise on already-established strengths where Greater Manchester-based businesses and institutions are already among world-leaders – the creative industries, digital, health innovation, advanced materials and manufacturing, and low carbon technologies – and build on the city-region’s economic success. Over the past decade, Greater Manchester has become the fastest growing economy in the UK (boasting annual growth of 3.1% since 2015), with productivity growth outpacing the national average.

The Mayor’s announcement comes as a new report is published on Greater Manchester’s economy and growth sectors – drawing on evidence from The Productivity Institute at the University of Manchester, and looking at how the city-region’s plans can drive future good growth. Working with businesses, universities, and other partners, Greater Manchester has set out detailed plans for each of our pioneering sectors:

• Advanced Materials and Manufacturing – Made up of around 500 businesses employing 15,000 people, Greater Manchester’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing sector is powered by world-class universities and research institutes, connecting the city centre to Atom Valley – a dynamic supercluster that will create new jobs across Bury, Oldham, and Rochdale, and be home to a new state-of-the-art Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Centre.
• Digital, Cyber and AI – Greater Manchester boasts a £5 billion tech ecosystem, the largest AI sector by headcount outside London and the South East, and key strengths in cyber security, fintech, and e-commerce – supported by leading research institutes in and around Manchester city centre.
• Health innovation and Life Sciences – The Oxford Road Corridor in Manchester city centre is a high-intensity cluster of health innovation and life science R&D, just 10 minutes from The Christie, Europe’s largest single-site specialist centre for cancer.
• Creative Industries – Greater Manchester has the largest concentration of creative businesses outside the capital, including at MediaCity in Salford, and is home to thriving grassroots hubs and major global arts and culture venues
• Low Carbon – We already have more than 3,000 firms employing nearly 60,000 people in our low carbon and net zero sector, worth nearly £9 billion a year. This will soon include the world’s largest liquid air energy storage plant in Carrington, backed by a £300 million investment.

Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, told the IFS conference:

“We are publishing for the first time our cluster map: five defined locations across our city region which, as this century develops, will host industrial clusters of growing global significance.

“In other words, a concrete plan to reindustrialise the birthplace of the industrial revolution, bringing high-value employment to all parts of Greater Manchester.”

Growth cluster plans that will support leading industries sit alongside a £1 billion Good Growth Fund that will invest into high-impact housing, employment, and regeneration projects, including a number of schemes in Stockport town centre. The 17 schemes announced in the first round of funding are set to deliver nearly 3,000 homes, more than 22,000 jobs, and 2 million square feet of employment space, Additional projects are to be considered for funding in March 2026.

Other support for growth clusters includes investment in meeting the skills needs of key sectors through the launch of the Manchester Baccalaureate and a commitment by the city-region’s businesses to create over 1,000 T Level placements for students. Calling on government for further devolution of powers of skills and training, Andy Burnham added:

“The highly specific nature of the activities within our clusters means the employers will need a much more agile, integrated and responsive skills system than exists at present.

“We believe the city region should be able to move away from the fragmented approach of the past and have the ability to commission our skills system to deliver to the sectoral needs of our fast-changing economy.”