Manchester’s 227,000 new homes and 200,000 new jobs will need a matching transport system to let its greatness come to life.
Manchester is making some plans, some major, 20-year master plans. The city aims to build 227,000 new homes and 200,000 new jobs – and all of that between now and 2035. To turn this idea into reality, Manchester also needs to upgrade its transport system in a rather significant way.
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The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), the ten councils that make up the Greater Manchester area, have put together the < a href=”https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/info/20018/greater_manchester_spatial_framework” target=”_blank”>Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, which will go before council leaders next week and outlines the scale of the area’s ambitions.
The initiative’s plans include:
- A new M62 junction at Irlam
- A new train station in Droylsden
- Upgrades to the M60 and M66
- Tram extensions at the airport and from Trafford to Salford
The area’s biggest sections of industrial development have been split up into four regions: a ‘western gateway’ around Port Salford, the Quays and Carrington in Trafford, an ‘eastern gateway’ around Ashton Moss, a ‘northern gateway’ around Bury, Oldham and Rochdale, and the ‘airport gateway’ in south Manchester.
All of these sections are already located close to motorways and train links, the initiative however admitted that more infrastructure needed to be built in order to make the plan work.
Whether or not this ambitious plan is becoming reality or not still has to be decided. The detailed proposal for the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework will go to consultation on October 31 until December 23, before being reviewed and put out to consultation next summer. Then, it’ll be passed to the Government for final approval.
