Greater Manchester Investment Zone targets growth and jobs in advanced manufacturing sector
A new Investment Zone for Greater Manchester, announced by the chancellor in his Autumn Statement, is expected to create 32,000 jobs and leverage £1.1bn of private sector investment.
The Investment Zone will provide £160m in public funding over 10 years to support initiatives and interventions agreed between Greater Manchester and government, which will include new research and innovation, sector-focussed skills programmes, local infrastructure enhancements, and targeted business support.
Greater Manchester’s Investment Zone will focus on the advanced materials and manufacturing sector. The package will support established strengths, including ID Manchester and other assets in the city-region core, and build on longer-term ambitions to scale up and deploy innovations in growth businesses, for example through Atom Valley. Anchor investments from Kadant, Werit, First Graphene and Hydrograph worth over £10m have been made alongside the Investment Zone.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) will continue to work with government, the universities in the city-region, and other partners to co-develop the plans for the Investment Zone, including priority development sites and specific interventions to drive cluster growth, ahead of final confirmation of plans.
Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “The Investment Zone will help us attract investment and create jobs and opportunities that will benefit people across Greater Manchester. Our city-region has been a centre for manufacturing and materials innovation for centuries, from leading the Industrial Revolution right through to the development of graphene, and the Investment Zone will ensure that continues.
“It’s also a vote of confidence in devolution and its ability to deliver levelling up. Providing more flexibility and local control over spending can help unlock Greater Manchester’s potential.”
Greater Manchester’s advanced manufacturing and materials sector comprises hundreds of innovative companies and the city-region’s universities host world-leading research. Advanced manufacturing alone employs approximately 110,000 people and generates around £8bn of economic output each year.
Government also confirmed plans to extend the Made Smarter Adoption programme following its successful pilot in Greater Manchester and the North West, with a view to expanding the programme across the UK by 2027. The programme helps SME manufacturers adopt digital technologies to help improve productivity and reduce carbon emissions.
Cllr Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester lead for economy, business, and inclusive growth, said: “Greater Manchester has an attractive proposition, with world-leading advanced manufacturing and materials research at our universities, a strong skills base, and an existing ecosystem of innovative companies.
“The Investment Zone will build on that cluster, linking and investing in different sites across the city-region, and helping us translate research and development and new discoveries into business growth.”
