New investment zone announced for Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is to become home to a new Investment Zone for the advanced materials and manufacturing sector, backed by £160 million government investment over the next decade.

Announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his Autumn Statement yesterday (November 22nd), the Greater Manchester Investment Zone is anticipated to create 32,000 additional jobs and leverage an additional £1.1 billion in private sector investment.

The government support announced by the Chancellor will support existing established projects in the city-centre, as well as longer term programmes throughout Greater Manchester, such as at the Atom Valley Mayoral Development Zone in the north-east of the city-region, which is deploying similar powers being used to accelerate regeneration in Stockport town centre to unlock investment into advanced materials, green energy and manufacturing innovation.

Alongside the creation of the Investment Zone, anchor investments worth over £10 million have already been made by organisations including Kadant, Werit, First Graphene and Hydrograph.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:

“The Investment Zone will help us attract investment and create jobs and opportunities that will benefit people across Greater Manchester. Our city-region has been a centre for manufacturing and materials innovation for centuries, from leading the Industrial Revolution right through to the development of graphene, and the Investment Zone will ensure that continues.

“It’s also a vote of confidence in devolution and its ability to deliver levelling up. Providing more flexibility and local control over spending can help unlock Greater Manchester’s potential.”

The Greater Manchester Investment Zone will further boost the city-region’s existing manufacturing capabilities: the advanced manufacturing sector alone employs approximately 110,000 people and generates around £8 billion of economic output each year, which is further supported by the world-leading research at local universities.

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

“Greater Manchester has an attractive proposition, with world-leading advanced manufacturing and materials research at our universities, a strong skills base, and an existing ecosystem of innovative companies.

“The Investment Zone will build on that cluster, linking and investing in different sites across the city-region, and helping us translate research and development and new discoveries into business growth.”