The Greater Manchester Growth Deal, which will see £3.6m invested at Stockport College and over £450million invested into Greater Manchester over the next few years, will help to create 5,000 jobs, support over 75,000 people learning new skills and generate up to £80million in private and public investment.
Included in the deal for Stockport is:
- Stockport Interchange – renovating the links between bus and rail stations to create a better environment for passengers.
- Stockport College – the Growth Deal will allow for the building of a new Civil Engineering & Groundworks Centre to provide specialist training
- Stockport Town Centre transport scheme – providing road improvements on the A6, a new link road, bus improvements, improved access to cycle and pedestrian links and improved access to bus and train stations
The Greater Manchester Growth Deal sets out a multi-million pound investment programme that will support further economic growth. Building on this the Growth Deal has also brokered agreement, between Greater Manchester and Government, to trial a series of public service reform programmes that will provide more effective support to residents and drive down the cost of public services.
This Growth Deal will focus on five key priority areas as identified in the Greater Manchester Growth and Reform Plan:
- Securing Greater Manchester and the North West’s place as a major centre for Life Sciences
- Enhancing further education facilities, creating more apprenticeships and maximising skills investment
- Major Investment in public transport and highways
- Reforming public services so that they reduce duplication and are designed around the needs of residents
- Providing effective business support services
According to estimates by the LEP, the Growth Deal will bring to Greater Manchester:
- 5000 jobs;
- Over 75,000 learners supported by investment in further education colleges and providers in Greater Manchester
- An additional £80m into the Greater Manchester economy from public and private partners
- Reforming public services so they are built around the needs of residents including:
- Improving the provision of apprenticeships in Greater Manchester by increasing the involvement of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
- New targeted health and employment support for residents with mental health conditions.
- Greater control over the Adult Skills Budget to provide access the courses to help secure good jobs.
- Life Science Investment Fund – giving local authorities and businesses the power to invest in life sciences across the North West and, crucially, support the transition of Alderley Park from its current role as Astra Zeneca’s research and development headquarters to the centre of a new world class bioscience cluster across Greater Manchester and Cheshire and Warrington.
- Metrolink Improvement Programme – acquiring 12 additional trams for the Metrolink network to provide additional capacity
- Route 8 Quality Bus Network – from Bolton to Manchester, improvements include new bus lanes, bus shelters and a new 1km busway on disused railway between Walkden and the A580
- Ashton Town Centre interchange – replacing the current interchange with a new integrated transport interchange for both bus and Metrolink services.
- Business Support Investment – supporting Business Support services available through the Business Growth Hub.
- Salford City College –a state of the art creative and digital media centre will be built to provide traineeships, apprenticeships, other skills and management training
- Tameside College – providing specialist advanced manufacturing equipment for the new Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Centre, which will help the businesses there to grow and create more jobs.
- Tameside College: supporting the establishment of new leisure and tourism and business & management facilities to train people so they can take advantage of the opportunities presented by a growing economy.
- Economic Solutions – supporting the relocation of two existing Training Centres (Salford and Wigan), the refurbishment of a further seven existing Training Centres and the enhancement of the Greater Manchester Skill Centre equipment (covering craft and mechanical, engineering and automotive skills). All of this will make sure people in the local area have the skills they need to find a job.
- Mantra Learning – the Growth Deal will mean the development of a real process manufacturing facility for training purposes, which will give people the specialist skills they need to work in manufacturing.
- Wigan & Leigh College – a broader range of further education courses will be made available to meet the demands of local people
- Minor Transport Schemes Programme across Greater Manchester that will improve junctions; cycle and bus facilities; and pedestrian facilities.
What is the benefit for local businesses?
This deal identifies and confirms a series of major transport investments within Greater Manchester ensuring reliable transport networks to connect businesses to their supply chains, customers and their labour markets.
Businesses will also benefit from investment in the Business Growth Hub providing specialist advice and support to businesses to help them grow, access markets and government support.
By enhancing further education facilities, creating more apprenticeships and investing in skills, residents will have the skills required to work in the Greater Manchester economy
Through the Life Science Investment Fund (a joint project with Cheshire & Warrington) new science start-up businesses will also be supported.
Facts and figures
The Growth Deal builds on significant recent investment in growth opportunities in Greater Manchester including:
Regional Growth Fund total allocation: £141.2m
Growing Places Fund total allocation: £37.4m
City Deal: Greater Manchester now has financial powers to ‘earn back’ up to £900m of additional tax revenue from growth generated by £1.2bn of local investment in infrastructure.
Commenting, Andrew Stunell MP of Hazel Grove constituency said –
“This is great news for our area. The money for the transport interchange in Stockport is an excellent signal of support for regeneration in the town centre, which is vital for long-term prosperity.”
This is welcome news for Greater Manchester and demonstrates the Government’s strong commitment to developing the prosperity of Manchester. Hundreds of millions of pounds of investment in Greater Manchester from the Government has already seen improved infrastructure and job creation allowing Manchester to reach its potential. Devolving power and funding to Greater Manchester will allow the region to shape its future and deliver the changes needed to improve the infrastructure and create thousands of jobs.
Mark Hunter, MP for Cheadle said –
“The Greater Manchester Growth Deal is terrific news for Cheadle constituency and the wider region. Along with the redevelopment of the public transport hubs and the additional support for local businesses, I am delighted that there will be new money to enhance local further education colleges – it is imperative that we continue to invest in our young people by providing more apprenticeship opportunities.”
The Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership today agreed an historic Growth Deal with the Government which will see £476.7million invested in Greater Manchester, £169.7million has been confirmed in the first year, and as part of the Government’s on-going commitment to the Greater Manchester LEP it has provided an indicative aware of a further £307million of funding from 2016/17 onwards.
The key features of the deal are:
- Major investment in public transport and roads, including 12 new Metrolink trams, a new Quality Bus Network Route 8 from Bolton to Manchester, new transport interchanges in Ashton & Stockport Town Centres
- Securing Greater Manchester and the North West’s place as a major centre for Life Science in the country with a new fund to be spent locally developing the industry.
- Reforming public services so that vulnerable people are provided with targeted employment support and Greater Manchester Leaders have more control over how the ASB is spent in the city region
The Greater Manchester Growth Deal is part of a £12 billion long-term programme to revitalise local economies. The deals are the latest and greatest example of the British economy being rebuilt from the bottom up, and sharing the benefits of the recovery around the country.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, said –
“The Greater Manchester Growth Deal will create thousands of jobs, provide incredible new training opportunities for young people, and improve transport links across the region for people and their families; building a stronger economy and a fairer society.
“We’re placing the power and money in the hands of people in Greater Manchester who know how to spend it best, making a real difference to local communities.”