Northern Gateway gets rolling in Bury, Rochdale
A supplementary planning document for the 1,600-acre site will go before councillors in the next few weeks for approval. Meanwhile, Harworth Group and Russell LDP have submitted a scoping opinion application for the area.
Rochdale Council and Bury Council’s SPD provides an overview of the ambitions for the Northern Gateway district, part of the wider Atom Valley Mayoral Development Zone. The SPD outlines the six character areas for the site – which sits around the M60, M62, and M66. The plot of land includes part of Heywood, Pilsworth, Simister, and Bowlee.
The first two areas are set for nearly 13m sq ft of employment space, while the latter two are for 1,200 homes. The two councils argue that the project could create more than 20,000 jobs and provide a £1bn economic boost to the area.
In addition to the homes and commercial space, Northern Gateway is to include a primary school, onsite renewable energy generation facilities, travel hubs, green space, hotel, and conference facilities.
The entire project is estimated to take 20 years to deliver.
Cllr Neil Emmott, Leader of Rochdale Borough Council, said: “The Northern Gateway, as part of the wider Atom Valley, presents us with a transformative opportunity to rebalance the Greater Manchester economy and bring thousands of high-quality jobs, improved transport links to surrounding areas and increased prosperity to the Rochdale borough and beyond.”
Bury Council Leader Cllr Eamonn O’Brien added: “This is a true game-changer, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring jobs and investment to our part of the world. It will play a crucial role in building prosperous communities in Bury and the wider area for generations to come.”
The draft SPD, written by Turley, goes before Rochdale councillors on 29 October and Bury councillors on 6 November.
Harworth Group and Russell LDP own most of the land allocated for Northern Gateway, and as such have joined forces to create the Northern Gateway Development Vehicle. It is the NGDV that submitted a scoping report for the two councils. This report covers the entirety of the site.
An outline planning application for the employment side of the project is due next year.
A NGDV spokesperson said: “Whilst we’re progressing at pace, it’s important we do so in a considered way with both councils and wider stakeholders.
“This work – exploring the technical constraints and major opportunities of development at the site – will underpin our work on a detailed masterplan and ultimately the planning application we intend to submit next year.”
The scoping application had not yet appeared on the Rochdale or Bury council planning portals at the time of publication. The project team includes Turley, Tetratech, The Harris Partnership, and Tyler Grange.
It’s nearly all on greenbelt land.
By Anonymous
I wonder how much of this will just be logistics sheds & data centres given its Rochdale & Bury. Really hope Harworth & Russell’s can work with the mayor & bring something special forward.
By Anonymous
Before ANY development commences there needs to be investment in new tram, guided busway and cycle routes. This shouldn’t be allowed to just be another mass housebuilder free-for-all with various bland estates that aren’t connected to one another.
By Anonymous
This could be a game changer if it’s handled right but it could also be just more big sheds if not handled right.
By Anonymous
It was removed from the Green Belt in the Greater Manchester Places for Everyone Plan for economic development. It may largely be open countryside but is not now Green Belt.
By Informed planner