Greater Manchester Mayor unveils £1 billion GM Good Growth Fund

Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, has launched a new £1 billion fund to support a pipeline of over 30 projects across the city-region to drive growth and regeneration across all 10 boroughs of the city-region.

The GM Good Growth Fund looks to support an Integrated Pipeline of of high-impact housing, employment, and regeneration projects throughout the city-region with a ‘Good Growth’ approach that includes helping people overcome barriers to employment and giving everyone a clear line of sight to local high-quality jobs. The £1 billion fund is estimated to create around 12,000 jobs in construction alone, with another 10,134 jobs at the new employment sites.

The first £400 million investment, unveiled by Andy Burnham in Stockport today (20th November) will deliver nearly 3,000 new homes, more than 22,000 new jobs and 2 million square feet of new employment space.

That initial investment is set to unlock a further £1.3 billion in private capital, helping get new development off the ground, creating new opportunities for everyone across Greater Manchester, and cementing this as the best place to invest in the UK.

Projects in Stockport to benefit from the initial investment include:

• £41.3m to provide funding to unlock the Stockport 8 development – a new walkable and sustainable neighbourhood in the town centre with 1,300 energy-efficient homes, delivering 435 new homes in the first phase, including 82 for affordable rent.
• £15m to support the development of 245 new homes on a derelict office block and car park site on Fletcher Street in Stockport town centre. The age-inclusive homes, set within an environmentally sustainable building, will meet the Lifetime Homes standard, ensuring they are accessible, convenient and adaptable for all stages of life.

Other priority schemes include work in an expanded Stockport MDC area, which will deliver a further 4,000 new homes, a new school and health, a riverside park and improved transport links.

The fund will sit alongside new Mayoral Development Corporations that will replicate successes achieved in delivering new homes in Stockport town centre, with new MDCs to deliver regneration in Middleton, and the Old Trafford.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:

“Greater Manchester is the UK’s economic success story of the past decade.

“Powered by devolution, our journey of growth has transformed our city region and is opening up opportunities that people could not have imagined 30 years ago.”

Cllr Bev Craig, Greater Manchester lead for Economy, Business, and Inclusive Growth and Leader of Manchester City Council, said:

“Our Good Growth Fund will drive the investment that will deliver thousands of new homes that people can afford, breathe new life into our town centres, create tens of thousands of jobs and ensure our city centre remains one of the most important engines of growth anywhere in the UK. It recognizes that we all benefit when everywhere thrives. 

“Most importantly, we’re lining up our plans so that this development is complemented by the expansion of our Bee Network, businesses get the support they need to thrive, and people can access high-quality jobs in growing parts of our economy.

“Good, inclusive growth means spreading the benefits of growth to all our people and all our boroughs.”

Greater Manchester’s Integrated Pipeline will help unlock the full potential communities and businesses, sequencing and coordinating development and targeting funding at the projects that will deliver the maximum opportunities for good growth.

The £1 billion Good Growth Fund brings together different pots of funding, including an initial £300 million invested by the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF).

A new strategic partnership between GMCA and GMPF – the first of its kind in the country – will prioritise local investment and align the GMPF’s investment to the Integrated Pipeline. Projects in the Integrated Pipeline will be able to access patient capital that aims for sustainable growth and long-term impact.

The city-region’s leaders are expected to approve this first wave of funding allocations at the next meeting of Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). The second wave of project funding will be announced in March.

Image: Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, speaking on BBC Breakfast