Atom Valley to feature at the heart of Greater Manchester’s growth plan

Friday, 25 March 2022 16:25

By David Murphy

Illustration of Advanced Machinery and Productivity Institute (AMPI)

The Mayor of Greater Manchester has given his support to Rochdale Borough Council’s ambitious plans to create thousands of new jobs, large employment space and high-quality homes.

After discussions between the council and the GM Mayor, the North East Growth Corridor will be adopted as a Mayoral Development Zone (MDZ). The MDZ to be known as Atom Valley will cover large parts of the Boroughs of Bury and Rochdale along the M62. It includes existing developments such as Kingsway Business Park, and projects recently underway, such as South Heywood. At the heart of Atom Valley will be the Northern Gateway employment site, complemented by ambitious plans to regenerate Heywood and Middleton Town Centres.

This shared vision for the area is to create a new centre of employment and opportunity in the north of Greater Manchester, levelling up within GM and driving new industries at the cutting edge of the UK economy. The area has the potential to create a cluster of manufacturing innovation focused on advanced machinery and materials at Kingsway and South Heywood.

Atom Valley will be the largest growth area in Greater Manchester, designed to help re-balance the region’s economy by bringing thousands of higher quality jobs, opportunities and housing to the borough of Rochdale and surrounding areas.

It will also make the area the heart of a new era of Advanced Materials growth and technology - driving Britain’s place in the world.

The MDZ is a new approach to tackling the challenges that town centres face and will ensure that Heywood and Middleton are at the centre of wider plans for Greater Manchester's North East Growth Corridor, which will see 10,000 new homes and over 1,000,000m2 square metres of new employment space created for the borough, plus new sustainable transport links and infrastructure to support the growth.

The MDZ means that the GMCA will work with the council to secure additional funding needed for the development of the scheme. This will include significant improvements to transport links such as the new tram – train link into Heywood, Metrolink extension to Middleton and bus services linking Heywood with Manchester together with walking and cycle routes to connect residents with jobs, education and skills, complementing the recent M62 Junction 19 investment.

Councillor John Blundell, the council’s cabinet member for Economy and Communications, said: “Atom Valley Manchester is a once in a generation opportunity to create a major centre for advanced manufacturing in Rochdale and Bury. As the largest growth location in Greater Manchester, Atom Valley will see universities and companies come together to harness cutting edge technology and create thousands of highly skilled jobs within our Borough.

“Atom Valley will also boost ongoing regeneration plans in our town centres and provide first-class infrastructure, as well as better public transport connections so our residents can access these jobs. It will provide new neighbourhoods and high-quality homes for our residents so they can stay and prosper here and those wanting to move to the area.

“The scheme will not only bring many new job opportunities but will offer the potential to trail-blaze the delivery of net-zero housing to produce better and more affordable and sustainable homes.

“The MDZ is an example of how the council, the Mayor and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) can work together with the private sector to deliver these environmentally sound plans to make our borough thrive. Atom Valley will be the heartbeat and lifeblood for surrounding areas - we are committed to making it a huge success.”

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