GMCA to ink agreement for 17m sq ft Atom Valley 

The formation of a Mayoral Development Zone aimed at levelling up the North of Greater Manchester and creating thousands of jobs is to be discussed by the combined authority this week. 

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority wants to designate a chunk of land stretching into the boroughs of Rochdale and Bury as a mayoral development zone known as Atom Valley. 

The zone will aim to deliver 17m sq ft of employment space across three key growth locations, as well as linking residents in nearby towns including Oldham, Heywood, Radcliffe and Middleton to the newly created jobs. 

Stretching along the M62 growth corridor, the employment sites within Atom Valley are Northern Gateway, Stakehill, and Kingsway Business Park. The latter already features plans for an Advanced Machinery and Productivity Institute. 

As well as employment space, up to 7,000 new homes could be delivered within Atom Valley. 

Ultimately, the formation of an MDZ is part of a targeted and proactive approach by the combined authority to improve the northern part of Greater Manchester. 

The Advanced Machinery and Productivity Institute is a key part of Atom Valley. Credit: via Rochdale Council

Being designated a Mayoral Development Zone means that an area will receive support from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in establishing strategic frameworks and securing development funding. 

At Atom Valley, the GMCA’s involvement will help create a tram-train link into Heywood, a Metrolink extension to Middleton and bus services that link Heywood and Manchester.

According to a GMCA report, there is “new urgency to focus on issues and opportunities in the north of the conurbation”, following years of austerity. 

“The northern areas of Greater Manchester perform significantly worse overall than the southern areas and this is forecast to continue unless there are co-ordinated interventions to address this,” the report adds. 

A meeting of combined authority members later this week is recommended to approve the formation of the Atom Valley MDZ.