Opinion: Manchester at MIPIM 2025 is the UK’s growth opportunity

In recent years Greater Manchester has laid the foundations for growth and begun to build on them. Not so long ago, we were a declining industrial city but now, the region has a rapidly growing and diverse economy, which has outperformed London and the rest of the UK in recent years, as well European peers. Our strong leadership, economic strategy and shared ambitious vision across all local authorities have brought us to this place.

Now our region is in an exciting position, with our growth mission aligned to that of the new UK Government. Greater Manchester is poised to spearhead a new era of inclusive growth in partnership with the UK Government, continuing our strong growth trajectory whilst maximising opportunities for our residents and businesses.

We already have the strategic framework in place and a shared ambition across all local authorities to deliver growth through housing, transport, innovation, clean growth, and a thriving business ecosystem. With the past two decades proving that our region can deliver growth at pace, our mission now is to deliver growth that benefits all our residents.

For the region to succeed, we must ensure that our economic growth links to our places; a strong economy is underpinned by vibrant, thriving and well-connected communities. We must drive the growth and innovations from our successful urban core to our suburbs and towns to bring genuine benefits to people, communities and the environment.

Quality housing is a key driver of growth. Both the UK Government and Greater Manchester have outlined the UK housing crisis as a priority and a matter of urgency. In Greater Manchester, we recognise that a good home is the cornerstone of a happy, healthy life and we’re working to ensure all our residents have access to safe, secure and affordable places to live.

From community-driven regeneration projects like Wythenshawe, Wigan, and Bolton town centres to the creation of new neighbourhoods like Holt Town and Victoria North – the latter being the north of England’s largest regeneration project – we’re addressing increased demand for city centre living as well as providing more homes in all boroughs. Across the region we’re committed to creating sustainable neighbourhoods that work for communities, creating highly desirable places to live at all life stages.

We’re also spearheading innovation in placemaking. Places like Salford set a precedent for sustainable and truly affordable social housing, with projects like the Passivhaus scheme in conjunction with Muse truly putting residents' needs first. Working with private sector partners and finding innovative new ways of delivering homes, Greater Manchester is on track to deliver 75,000 new homes (10,000 of which will be truly affordable net-zero homes), far surpassing the target set by the UK Government.

Greater Manchester is leading the way in revolutionising sustainable public transport. Our devolved budget has allowed us to take control of public transport and spearhead initiatives like bus franchising and capped fares.

We believe that to drive growth, we need to connect people in all corners of the region to opportunity, and delivering the Bee Network will be one of the keys to doing this; integrating bus, tram, rail, and active travel into one easy-to-use and connected network.

By investing heavily in active travel and public transport we will also move towards the ‘Right Mix’ ambition for 50% of all journeys to be made by walking, cycling, and public transport – in turn cleaning our region’s air, creating liveable neighbourhoods, and promoting healthier lifestyles.

We’re also investing in wider transport infrastructure projects that will increase connectivity to other city-regions across the north and the UK as a whole. Improving connections and capacity on our rail lines and motorways, as well as Manchester Airport, will en