Large employment space and homes feature in new plan

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has given his support to plans to create thousands of new jobs, large employment space and homes.After discussions between the council and the GM mayor, the North East Growth Corridor will be adopted as a Mayoral Development Zone (MDZ). The MDZ to be known as Atom Valley will cover large parts of the Bury and Rochdale boroughs along the M62. It includes existing developments such as Kingsway Business Park and projects recently underway, including South Heywood. At the heart of Atom Valley will be the Northern Gateway employment site, complemented by plans to regenerate Heywood and Middleton town centres.This shared vision for the area is to create a new centre of employment and opportunity in the north of Greater Manchester.It has the potential to create a cluster of manufacturing innovation focused on advanced machinery and materials at Kingsway and South Heywood. Atom Valley will be the largest growth area in Greater Manchester, designed to help re-balance the region’s economy. This is by bringing thousands of higher quality jobs, opportunities and housing to the borough of Rochdale and surrounding areas.It will also make the area the heart of a new era of Advanced Materials growth and technology.The MDZ is a new approach to tackling the challenges that town centres face and will ensure that Heywood and Middleton are at the centre of wider plans for Greater Manchester’s North East Growth Corridor. This will see 10,000 homes and more than ten million sq ft of employment space created for the borough, as well as sustainable transport links and infrastructure to support the growth.The MDZ means that the GMCA will work with the council to secure additional funding needed for the development of the scheme.This will include significant improvements to transport links such as the new tram-train link into Heywood, Metrolink extension to Middleton and bus services linking Heywood with Manchester. This is together with walking and cycle routes to connect residents with jobs, education and skills, complementing the recent M62 junction 19 investment.