Future Cities Forum to hold its 'Industrial cities and housing 2025' in Manchester this April

Above: Manchester Town Hall - designed by Alfred Waterhouse in the 1870s and refurbished over the last four years in a major project led by Purcell (Image courtesy of Purcell)

Future Cities Forum is delighted to be hosted by Manchester City Council at the Town Hall in April for its 'Industrial Cities and housing 2025' discussion event.

Contributors from government, investment, architecture and planning will debate best practice for housing design, station-led development, district regeneration and construction. The region is already known for its advanced manufacturing and materials sector. How investment can grow this strength, will also be discussed.

Following announcements this year by the UK government on its 'Plan for change' strategy, the City of Manchester and the City Region, have been highlighted for investment both in manufacturing and housing - the latter particularly around station infrastructure. In January this year, the UK government spoke about its vision for development. It stated:

'Untapped land near commuter transport hubs will be unlocked to build new housing for working people, as part of bold new steps to reform the planning system and unlock growth to deliver win-win outcomes for the country and the economy. The bold reforms will create secure, high-paying jobs and deliver major infrastructure faster to bolster public services and lower bills.

'The government is also working with Greater Manchester to release growth-generating land around transport hubs through local development orders, such as around Castleton Station, with the potential for this innovative use of existing powers to kickstart building in these sites to be a blueprint for the rest of the country so that every corner of the UK benefits from growth.'

This month, Manchester City Council received £1,5 million funding by the Government to support the next phase of regeneration in Collyhurst in north Manchester - part of the major Victoria North regeneration programme. Leader of Manchester City Council, Bev Craig said:

'We welcome the news that the new Government wants to work with us to help us build more homes and create more jobs for Manchester residents.

'Victoria North represents one of the most ambitious urban regeneration programmes in Europe and will see more than 15,000 homes built in the next decade, along with a range of employment, social, community, cultural and neighbourhood uses. Its delivery will transform 390 acres of brownfield and underutilised land in some of the most deprived wards of Manchester, creating a new town in Manchester, interconnected by quality green spaces which will open up and celebrate the River Irk.'

Future Cities Forum's host at its forum in Manchester will be Cllr Gavin White, Executive Member, Housing and Development at the Council. Speaking at the start of the year, he said:

“We are constantly reviewing what land opportunities are at our disposal to build much-need housing across a range of tenures and types to meet demand in a local area. These parcels of land will all deliver the homes we know these communities need, including significant affordable and social housing, but also specialist housing too. We really welcome the accelerated delivery of new social and affordable housing that these sites will enable. 

“This is in no small part thanks to our strong partnership approach, working closely with Manchester’s housing providers using Council-owned brownfield land, public and government funding, and the expertise of the city’s affordable housing developers to build high quality, low carbon homes for Manchester people.” 

Local authority leaders in Old Trafford have been commenting on their hope that the news this year of the intended regeneration of Old Trafford sports stadium, will also lead to new settlements and mix-use development around the site. In a statement they said:

'The once-in-a-generation opportunity to replace Old Trafford with a new 100,000-seater Manchester United stadium and regenerate the surrounding area could bring £7bn to the UK economy and create up to 90,000 jobs locally the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force has revealed.

'The Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force has completed its initial feasibility work into options for a new or redeveloped stadium at Old Trafford setting out a once-in-a-generation opportunity for social and economic growth across Trafford and the surrounding area.

'An Options Report has been submitted by the Task Force to executive bodies at Manchester United, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Trafford Borough Council, setting out bold ambitions to transform the historic industrial engine room of Greater Manchester into a vibrant new driver of growth and innovation in sports, entertainment, business, and education.

'The vision is for Manchester United to develop a world-class stadium, acting as a catalyst for wider regeneration of a re-energised Trafford Park, which initial findings suggest could deliver an extra £7.3bn gross value added to the UK economy and more than 90,000 employment opportunities*.A redeveloped Old Trafford could increase the capacity of the existing stadium to 87,000, whereas a new-build stadium would allow capacity to reach 100,000. Both options remain under consideration, with the club set to decide on the preferred approach ahead of the summer.'

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham added:

With our devolved powers we’re mobilising the whole Greater Manchester system to lock in growth for the next decade and reap the rewards for our city-region and UK plc. The project around Old Trafford represents the biggest opportunity for urban regeneration this country has seen since London 2012 and is a key part of our 10-year plan to turbocharge growth across Greater Manchester. We look forward working with the Government on moving freight away from the site around Old Trafford to new locations to open up capacity our rail network, and unlock massive regeneration potential – delivering benefits across the whole of the North.

In office development news the Government Property Agency (GPA) has announced that it is now creating a large office complex in the district of Ancoats, an area of housing development in the city. - and also the world's first industrial suburb. The GPA said:

'A major government office complex has been given planning consent to be built in Manchester. Manchester Digital Campus will be a state-of-the-art hub constructed on the former Central Retail Park in Ancoats after the city’s planning committee approved the Government Property Agency’s (GPA) scheme at a meeting today (Thursday 20 February 2025).

'The campus will bring together a number of Civil Service departments with a focus around digital skills and create significant employment opportunities and economic benefits in the region.'

Mark Bourgeois, CEO at the GPA, said:

'We are delighted with the decision and are grateful for the support of the many stakeholders in Manchester. The GPA team is proud to be working on this exciting project in support of the Government’s growth mission.'

Alongside the campus, a new park will improve access to quality green space in Manchester city centre, creating a connection to the existing Cotton Field Park behind and through to Ancoats and New Islington.  

The park space has been designed in collaboration with landscape architects Planit-IE following public consultation.  

A central lawn and plaza will create a green buffer to Great Ancoats Street, with various tiered gardens navigating the different level changes across the site, alongside play areas, paths and tranquil areas to escape the noise of the city. The park has been designed to make sure that it is fully accessible. 

The site will accommodate new walking and cycling routes, helping to link to other city centre active travel investment in Ancoats, Northern Quarter and out towards the Etihad Campus.

In January this year, the Chancellor also spoke about a new approach across the National Wealth Fund (NWF) and the Office for Investment (OfI), which she said will work with local leaders across the UK to support places to build pipelines of incoming investment and projects linked to regional growth priorities.

The Chancellor explained:

'This new approach will put local knowledge and leadership at the forefront, with tailored strategies for each region, ensuring investment matches local needs and drives sustainable growth. Putting the government’s Plan for Change into action, the goal is to harness growth everywhere to rebuild Britain and usher in a decade of national renewal.

'The National Wealth Fund will also trial Strategic Partnerships starting in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, West Midlands, and Glasgow City Region. These partnerships will provide enhanced, hands-on support with tailored commercial and financial advice to help regions develop and secure long-term investment opportunities.

'This initiative will play a key role in unlocking investment across sectors such as technology, manufacturing, and green energy, helping to fuel the next wave of economic growth.'

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burham stated that:

'Greater Manchester is growing faster than the UK economy but we have got so much more to give to UK plc. The reforms announced will help us to do just that and go much further and faster in support of the national growth mission. We particularly welcome the opportunity to work with Government to review the Green Book and how it is used to steer public investment, as the current approach is not working for the North of England.'

Below: Manchester Town Hall (Waterhouse building) exterior detail (courtesy Purcell)