Manchester City Council is set to welcome around £200m investment into key growth areas for the city – part of the £1bn Greater Manchester Good Growth Fund announced by the GMCA.
The funding package is set to be approved by Cllr Bev Craig, the portfolio Leader for Good Growth, and the Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham at a meeting of the Combined Authority next week.
The funding will allow Manchester to continue to build on its strengths and a strong track record in recent years for creating the conditions for inclusive economic growth.
In December 2023, Manchester launched ‘Investing in Success’, an economic strategy built on the principle of good growth – delivering jobs for Manchester people to lift people out of poverty, while highlighting the need for housing investment to help our residents to thrive.
Since the adopting of the strategy, the employment rate in Manchester has increased to 70.5% between July 2024 and July 2025 – which represents a 5.1% increase since July 2023.
Similarly, the economic inactivity rate in Manchester has declined to 22.9% as of this summer – the lowest ever rate recorded in the city – meaning that 8,800 more people have become economically active since July 2023.
And the strength of Manchester’s business community, a key driver of employment growth, shows a trend of ongoing success. There has been a 30.6% rise in the number of businesses in Manchester since 2015 – and the total number of businesses in the city has grown by 880 in the last year alone.
At the same time, Manchester is also building more homes – and crucially more genuinely affordable and Council housing – than at any point in more than a decade. Quality housing is being delivered across the city to meet the needs of our residents, creating excellent neighbourhoods that our residents want to live in – while helping to surpass the targets set in the ambitious 2022 to 2032 housing strategy.
The first tranche of the pioneering Good Growth funding model will provide a vehicle to continue this trajectory, delivering £400m investment for 30 projects across the city region making sure that the whole of Greater Manchester will benefit.
For Manchester, the investment will focus on delivering major residential projects – with a keen focus on social housing and genuinely affordable tenures – along with transformative investment in key projects that will unlock major commercial and office space, and significant employment and skills opportunities for local people.
New Housing and Affordable Homes
Victoria North
This City
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126 new city centre homes are expected as part of this development, with at least 20% capped at the Manchester Living Rent to make sure they are affordable to as many local people as possible.
Wythenshawe Town Centre
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£25.4m will be allocated to the regeneration programme, including investment in more than 400 new homes – the majority of which will be available at social rent. 109 of these homes will be ‘extra care’ flats for supported living.
Commercial Space
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£44m to refurbish the former Kendals department store on Deansgate creating 450,000sqft of new office space in the city centre – helping to meet major demand for high quality office accommodation in Manchester.
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£20m to expand the 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.
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And £7m will be invested in the new innovation district a MIX Manchester at Manchester Airport to create 121,000sq ft for tech units targeted at Advanced Manufacturing scale-ups –which will support new jobs for Wythenshawe people.
Leader of the Council Bev Craig said:
“Manchester is leading the way in trying to both supercharge our economy to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, while also creating new opportunities for our residents and building homes everyone can afford. Our mission is clear, good growth that creates a world class city, a thriving economy and a place where everyone benefits.
“This groundbreaking GM Good Growth Fund will supercharge our ambitions, backing schemes that create jobs and the homes we need for everyone’s benefit. It will unlock and deliver major new sustainable housing investment that meets the needs of our residents, building excellent communities and town centres that our residents are proud to call their own – and, crucially, unlock projects that can deliver genuinely affordable and Council homes that make sure these developments are open and available to as many Mancunians as possible.
“We also know that the whole of the Northwest, and the rest of Greater Manchester, needs Manchester City Centre to do well – attract growth, investment and opportunity for the whole region. That’s why the Greater Manchester investment in commercial office development is so important. And despite the commercial challenges elsewhere in the country, Manchester can forge ahead with making sure our commercial pipeline meets the huge demand we see for new space in the city. It will also help a range of globally significant projects to move forward, while creating the conditions for our key growth sectors to thrive in digital, life sciences, research and innovation.
“The Good Growth Fund represents an unprecedented level of investment in key sectors and homes across our city region. We have thought carefully about how we can best inject money into the right locations and this fund is a major shot in the arm for economic growth, job creation, skills and infrastructure – translating directly into new jobs and opportunities for our residents to play their part in the city’s success.”