More than 30 projects covering every borough in unique ‘Manchester’ approach to change lives.
20:04, 19 Nov 2025Updated 20:23, 19 Nov 2025
Andy Burnham has agreed a new approach to investment, with each of ours 10 boroughs picking three priority projects(Image: M.E.N.)
Andy Burnham is set to fire the starting pistol on a £1bn plan promising every Greater Manchester borough its own cut of the boom that’s transformed the city. The first-of-its-kind fund will involve more than 30 projects to be backed across the region.
Local leaders have come together to agree a new approach to investment aimed at closing Greater Manchester’s own north-south divide.
The new ‘bold and prudent’ plan will see proceeds from more lucrative investments, predominantly in and around the city centre, help fund projects in places that have been left behind.
It comes as Greater Manchester’s economic growth continues to outstrip the rest of the country with an annual rate of 3.1 per cent.
Mr Burnham will set out the new approach to regional investment in a speech on Thursday, a week before the budget. The announcement comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves is under significant pressure to deliver meaningful UK growth.
(Image: Getty Images)
It also comes amid feverish speculation about the prime ministerial ambitions of Mr Burnham.
During the speech, he is also expected to say that the lack of commitment to big rail and road infrastructure is the ‘single biggest risk to Greater Manchester’s growth in the next decade’, describing it as ‘negligent of the needs of our region’ and ‘insulting to its people’.
Of the new fund, he will say: “It marks a decisive break with trickle-down economics and old extractive approaches to growth.
“This has been the Whitehall way. It has picked winners and losers and left the UK with wide inequalities between people and places.
“After pioneering a new model of bottom-up devolution, we will now do the same again with a new approach to a decade of good growth.”
The new fund will draw on cash from the latest devolution deal which gives leaders more flexibility over how money is spent.
Greater Manchester’s economy is outpacing others(Image: MEN)
Inspired by the late Manchester council boss Sir Howard Bernstein, the latest generation of local leaders will use these new devolved powers to ‘kickstart’ projects that private investors are not backing with ‘just enough’ public money to get them going.
The first £400m of the GM Good Growth Fund promises to deliver nearly 3,000 new homes and more than 22,000 new jobs, including investment in Oldham town centre, the Cotton Works project at Wigan Pier and the demolition of the Longfield Centre in Prestwich.
Bringing together different pots of funding, including £300m from the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, the package will include loans with the proceeds recycled and used to fund schemes with slower returns as well as grants to get developments off the ground.
Use our interactive map to see all the projects, borough by borough…
Each borough has been asked to pick three priority projects, half of which are set to have funding approved at a meeting next week.
The full list of the first projects to be funded and other priority schemes in the pipeline can be found below.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News ahead of his speech, the Greater Manchester mayor said the recent success of Stockport town centre’s regeneration gives him confidence that backing projects which the markets won’t fully fund at first will encourage others to invest.
He said: “The time has come where growth has to reach everywhere in a more meaningful way than it has perhaps done in the first decade of Greater Manchester devolution.
“If we back all of our places emphatically, they will grow because they’ve all got potential. They’ve all got latent potential.
“As Stockport has done, they can all tap into the strength of the city. Not to lose their own identity, not to become dormitory towns. But the proximity to the city is a gamechanger given how powerful it’s becoming.”
The front page of Thursday’s edition of the Manchester Evening News(Image: M.E.N.)
He added: “I don’t think we can seriously change the prospects of the north of Greater Manchester without an approach like this.
“This is about closing our own North-South divide. This is a very, very serious attempt at doing that.”
The first list of projects to be funded, which initially appeared to favour schemes with a faster return on investment, has been a matter of contention among council leaders, particularly those representing the north of the city-region, the Manchester Evening News understands.
However, Mr Burnham said they were ‘right to challenge us’ because ‘places can’t wait forever’ to benefit from growth.
Of the first 31 projects in the pipeline, 13 are set to have funding approved next week, with another four to be taken forward in March.
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) will also borrow up to £150m as part of the first phase with the initial £400m invested expected to ‘unlock’ £1.3bn in private capital helping the city-region build ‘at a pace and scale not seen before this century’.
According to the GMCA, the fund has the potential to create around 12,000 jobs in construction alone, with another 10,134 jobs at new employment sites included in the pipeline of priority projects.
The first projects also include some affordable housing at Stretford Mall, Salford Crescent and Ashton-under-Lyne as well as social housing in Oldham.
New schemes are set to be approved every six months with GMCA boss Caroline Simpson saying at least 60 more are in the mix.
The former Stockport council boss, who oversaw the regeneration of the town centre before taking the top job at the GMCA last year, told the Manchester Evening News that officials are creating a skills and talent pipeline while procuring in a way that strengthens local supply chains.
She said: “We’re just building the pipeline. When we really get the pipeline moving it will have all our affordable and social housing programmes in there, we’ll be aligning all our transport funding.
“It’s a living, breathing thing that will never stop if we get it going because there’ll always be things that are coming out and getting finished and other priorities coming in.”
The £1bn fund will draw on Greater Manchester’s first integrated settlement which gives leaders more flexibility over how money is spent as well as an initial £300m from the pension fund through a new partnership with the GMCA said to be the first of its kind in the country.
It comes nearly a decade after former Manchester council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein secured a £300m fund from the government which has been loaned to projects predominantly in the city centre which he argued were viable but not being backed.
Earlier this year, a court threw out claims that the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loans Fund (GMHILF) had distorted the market with the vast majority of money loaned to Renaker – the developer behind most of Manchester city centre’s skyscrapers.
The GM Good Growth Fund is modelled on the GMHILF, however the criteria for projects to be approved will be different, allowing for investment in projects that will take longer to deliver a return.
Manchester council leader Bev Craig said: “Our track record is something to be proud of, but behind the headlines our mission for growth is clear- it has to be with purpose, inclusive and create real opportunities.
“Too often trickle down growth isn’t something people can feel in their everyday lives or see in their local communities, and we want to change that.
“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.”
Full list of projects:
Prince’s Gate: Working with a developer to build 331 new homes next to Oldham Mumps station, 75 of which will be social housing.
Boundary Park: Sports Town Mayoral Development Corporation in partnership with Oldham Athletic AFC that would create a centre of excellence for sport, health, education and community facilities, including a new state-of-the-art 3G pitch at the former “Little Wembley” training ground, a potential 3,000-seat netball stadium, and a top-floor renovation of the Joe Royle Stand into an education facility.
Northern Roots, next to Alexandra Park: Creating UKs biggest urban farm and eco-park (743,210m2/74.3 hectares), across 160 acres of green space outside the town centre.
Trafford Wharf: Providing key funding to unlock 382 new homes in the Old Trafford Regeneration Area
Stretford town centre: Redeveloping the old Stretford Mall into 427 new homes, of which 178 will be affordable, next to the newly reopened high street and town square in Stretford town centre.
Old Trafford: Driving forward the Old Trafford Regeneration project – creating a new leisure and business destination and 15,000 new homes around a new 100,000-seat football stadium.
Prestwich village: Redeveloping the Longfield Centre site by demolishing unused buildings, creating a new Market Hall and retail spaces, supporting the development of a new multistorey travel hub
Prestwich village: Working towards delivery of 235 new homes at Prestwich Village
Atom Valley: Unlocking the Northern Gateway employment site – one of the three key sites within Atom Valley – by supporting development of plans for a new road link.
Bury Interchange: Developing Bury Interchange into an integrated transport hub joining up bus, tram and active travel
Bolton town centre / NorthFold growth area: Creating a Mayoral Development Corporation to drive forward growth in Bolton Town centre creating new jobs, new homes and supporting the ambitions for the NorthFold Growth Location work between Wigan and Bolton – including a new 800,000 sq. ft logistics hub at Wingates with potential to create 6,900 jobs
Crompton Place Shopping Centre: Supporting work to progress the demolition of Crompton Place Shopping Centre and replacing it with new housing, office space and a hotel in the town centre as part of plans to regenerate the town centre
Lee Hall: Driving forward plans for the Lee Hall development, which will deliver 450 new homes, 157 of which will be affordable housing, linked to wider plans to develop Hulton Park.
Sister at UoM’s former North campus: Expand our global innovation hub, Sister, by investing in the redevelopment of former University of Manchester buildings to create new office and lab space for advanced manufacturing and materials, life sciences, low carbon and green technology and the digital and technology sectors.
Kendals: Refurbish the old Kendals department store on Deansgate for new office space in the city centre
Victoria North: Progress delivery of Victoria North, which will see up to 15,000 new homes built between Victoria Train Station and Queen’s Park in Collyhurst as part of a development shortlisted for the Government’s New Towns programme
Wythenshawe town centre: Supporting plans for the regeneration of Wythenshawe town centre including plans for 423 new homes for social rent of which 109 will be ‘extra care’ flats for supported living.
Rochdale railway station: Supporting the council’s plans for more than 200 new homes next to Rochdale railway station as part of the Station Gardens project within the wider Rochdale Rail Corridor vision.
Atom Valley: Working with the Rochdale Development Agency and The University of Manchester to realise the potential of the Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Centre – a key catalyst in the wider Atom Valley vision for an advanced materials and manufacturing supercluster.
Atom Valley: Developing our plans to expand Metrolink to connect Oldham, Rochdale, Heywood and Bury through tram-train services, enhancing transport connectivity within Atom Valley
Ashton town centre: Exploring plans for redevelopment in Ashton town centre to deliver new affordable homes, employment space, and breathe new life into Market Square and the outdoor markets
Godley Green: Bring forward plans for up to 2,150 new homes at Godley Green – including more than 300 affordable homes.
Ashton and Stalybridge: Tameside Council to map out a vision for the future of Ashton and Stalybridge town centres, and the corridor linking the two.
Salford Crescent: Delivering homes of different types and tenures – including 301 homes for social and affordable rent and 42 new townhouses. The scheme is already set to deliver 336 new apartments across two new buildings
Salford Crescent: Using our Industrial Strategy Zone funding to support the Salford Crescent redevelopment masterplan – a £2.5bn regeneration partnership between Salford City Council, the University of Salford, and the English Cities Fund – including new multi-modal transport links through our Bee Network.
Salford Crescent: Supporting the development of a new Acoustic Innovation Institute as part of the Salford Crescent innovation district – a new state-of-the-art hub for world-leading research, teaching, and business development.
Stockport: Provide funding to unlock the Stockport 8 development, delivering 435 new homes, including 82 for affordable rent.
Stockport town centre: Support the development of 245 new homes on a former car park on Fletcher Street in Stockport town centre. The homes will meet the Lifetime Homes standard, ensuring they are accessible, convenient and adaptable for all stages of life.
Stockport town centre: Building on the success of the Stockport MDC by expanding it to cover the east of the town centre, delivering 4,000 new homes, a new school, a riverside park and improved transport links.
Eckersley Mill at Wigan Pier: Supporting the Cotton Works redevelopment of the Grade II-listed Eckersley Mill complex at Wigan Pier, including the building of almost 180 new homes.
Cotton Works: Delivering 93,500 square feet of commercial, office, leisure, and healthcare space through the Cotton Works redevelopment scheme – expected to create around 670 new jobs
Leigh and surrounding area: Backing a new Mayoral Development Zone for Leigh and the surrounding area – bringing together partners to drive forward a vision for redevelopment that would include a new University Campus for Health and Social Care