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The vision for
Greater Manchester
in 2030
Next
Greater Manchester has made
real progress in the past few years.
We’ve set the standard for English
devolution and have a strong track
record of delivering for our people
and places. We’re already showing
what real levelling up means for our
city region. As we move forward,
we all have a part to play in making
this a greener, fairer, and more
prosperous place for everyone.
ANDY BURNHAM
Mayor of Greater
Manchester
“
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The vision for Greater Manchester in 2030
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3
Contents
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Executive summary
6
Introduction
4
Contents
Where we are now
8
Sustainability
20
Talent
38
Contributors
54
Infrastructure
12
Business
30
Culture
46
As we moved out of a
very difficult period
for our city it felt like
an opportune moment
to capture some of that
visionary thinking.
MIKE PERLS MBE
MC2 Chairman &
Non-executive Director
“
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Introduction
MC2 has been privileged over the years to see up close how leaders
from across our city region have created success stories that set
global standards. We’ve seen it in business, academia, sport and
local government. Greater Manchester both produces and attracts
visionaries that are able to mix strategic insight with a relentless
focus on execution.
As we moved out of a very difficult period for our city it felt like
an opportune moment to capture some of that visionary thinking.
We convened leaders from the public and private sectors with a
track record of world-class execution to create a vision for 2030.
When these individuals say they are going to do something, they do
it. This report articulates that collective vision, and identifies the
areas we must get right in order to achieve it.
As a city region, we must continue the discussion that this paper
provokes. If plans aren’t in place for each element then let’s put
them in place. Let’s convene working groups to look at the key
areas in greater detail and how we move them forward:
infrastructure, sustainability, business, talent and culture.
The ambition behind this vision is significant, but by no means out
of reach. Greater Manchester has always led the way, and there
is a collective desire for this to continue. Now it’s simply about
making it happen.
Introduction by
Mike Perls MBE
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Introduction
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Executive
summary
In 2030, Greater Manchester will be known globally
as a city region that works better for its residents.
A place of opportunity. From a technology-driven
transport system that connects people to
employment, to a thriving funding ecosystem
that supports diverse entrepreneurs and
models for skills development that maximise
homegrown talent.
It will be a place of innovation, but on a scale
even higher than what has been achieved before.
Innovation born out of best practice collaboration;
innovation that enables the region to reach Net
Zero targets and creates highly skilled jobs for
its residents.
This will all ensure Greater Manchester is magnetic
- to entrepreneurs, investors and talent. People
and businesses will flock here, and stay. Not just
for the opportunities on offer to them, but
because Greater Manchester is a fair and
diverse city region that feels like home to all.
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Executive summary
This is how
we get there
Infrastructure
1. Make a world-class transport
system a reality
2. Align our digital ambitions
with the placemaking agenda
3. T ake a collective approach to
city region planning
Sustainability
1. Innovate our way to
zero carbon
2. Clean up Greater
Manchester’s air
3. Create a sustainable
approach to living
Business
1. Build a truly diverse funding
system that works for all
2. Create the global benchmark
for public private
partnerships that deliver
innovation
3. Amplify our successes
globally through a compelling
business narrative
Talent
1. Enable homegrown talent
to reach their full potential
2. Create a pipeline of skills
that can drive innovation
3. Attract and retain
world-class talent
Culture
1. Carve out our position as the
most diverse and welcoming
city region in Europe
2. Realise our potential as a
home for global events
3. Use culture as a catalyst
for growth
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Executive summary
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Where we
are now
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Where we are now
There are
99 Metrolink
tram stops
in Greater Manchester.
(Wikipedia, August 2022)
Greater
Manchester’s
total tree
cover is at
17%
(City of Trees, 2021)
Residential units are under
construction for the third
consecutive year.
(Deloitte, 2021)
12,000
sq ft of retail floorspace
under construction in 2021.
(Deloitte, 2021)
480,000
The amount Greater
Manchester will receive from
the City Region Sustainable
Transport Settlement,
towards Metrolink network
improvements and launch
of new bus corridors.
(GMCA, 2021)
£1.07bn
45%
Lower carbon
emissions
than in 2005.
(Manchester Climate
Agency, 2021)
60%
Over
Of trips in
Greater Manchester
are made by car.
(Greater Manchester
Infrastructure
Framework 2040, 2021)
More homes built
in Manchester city
centre in 2021
than ever before
(Deloitte, 2021)
In GM cycle at
least once a week.
(Manchester Climate
Agency, 2021)
13% of
residents
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Where we are now
Infrastructure
Sustainability
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36%
of businesses in Greater
Manchester had concerns
about their viability, in line
with the average of 38%
for the North of England.
By February 2021
Business
73,906
students enrolled
at Manchester’s
universities in 2021.
(State of the City Report, 2021)
1 in 5
vacancies in Greater
Manchester are linked
to skills shortages.
(Local Skills Report &
Labour Market Plan, 2021)
1 in 10
of Greater Manchester’s
working age residents
has no qualifications.
(Local Skills Report &
Labour Market Plan, 2021)
40%
of graduates opt to stay
in Greater Manchester
post graduation.
(Local Skills Report &
Labour Market Plan, 2021)
of Manchester businesses
reported revenue levels
to be over 75% down on
business-as-usual July to
October 2021, considerably
higher than the 27% for the
North of England.
(State of the City Report, 2021)
58%
An average of
Greater Manchester
is home to
23,565
active enterprises -
an increase of 715
from the previous year.
(State of the City Report, 2021)
new businesses were formed
in Manchester in 2020.
(State of the City Report, 2021)
6,004
Talent
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Where we are now
80,000
Parklife 2021 tickets
were sold in 78 minutes.
(The Growth Company, 2021)
18,000
people visited the
Manchester Art
Gallery in the 11 weeks
it was open in 2020.
(State of the City Report, 2021)
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The value of the visitor
economy pre-pandemic was
£9 billion;
it is estimated that during 2020
at least 70% of that value was lost.
(State of the City Report, 2021)
Greater Manchester has
of formal production
space, making it one of
the most significant
media hubs on Earth.
(The Growth Company, 2021)
1million
square
feet
90%
of Greater Manchester’s
Night Time Economy
businesses closed due to
the impact of COVID-19
(The Growth Company, 2021)
Culture
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Where we are now
INFRASTRUCTURE
Our 2030 vision
Greater Manchester is the most liveable city region in Europe.
Our residents and visitors move easily between two thriving cities,
Manchester and Salford, the vibrant economies of our suburb towns
and green spaces that add to and retain Greater Manchester’s
areas of natural beauty.
We have a fully-integrated, technology driven transport system that
not only rivals London, but our peers across the globe. Our local,
nationwide and global connections open up a world of opportunity
for the residents and businesses that reside here.
From the way people access public services, to the way they move
around the city region, Greater Manchester is digital-first and
inclusive of all. Use of the latest technologies provides an improved
quality of life for our residents. It attracts new visitors, as well as
ambitious businesses looking for a base from which to scale.
Our ‘liveable’ status is attracting continued UK and international
investment. We are moving up the World’s Best Cities Index and we
have solidified our position as the fastest growing tech hub in Europe.
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Infrastructure
ANDY BELL
CEO, AJ Bell
A transport deficit
cannot be part of the
discussion in 2030.
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Infrastructure
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Make a world-class
transport system a reality
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How we
get there
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Infrastructure
Ensuring this vision is realised by 2030 will
be crucial in driving our economy and social
prosperity across Greater Manchester. It
requires the whole city region getting behind
the plans. We must drive through the franchising
model across transport services, giving us the
ability to synchronise and develop integrated
ticketing on a scale that crosses modes and
develops a step change in performance.
We must enhance our national connections too,
continuing the development of Piccadilly Station
with HS2 and Northern Power Rail to drive greater
connectivity. Continuing to make a strong case
to central government to follow through on these
infrastructure investments is key.
To ensure our international connections drive
further investment, we should continue establishing
direct routes to major economies and focus on
building relationships and collaborating with
relevant local authorities in each to drive towards
agreements - building on the brilliant work to-date
of Manchester Airport Group (MAG). There’s
also the modernisation of our major transport
hubs - making arrival into Manchester feel like
a ‘wow’ experience.
In getting our transport system right, we would
unlock the biggest gains for Greater Manchester’s
residents, its businesses, the regional economy
and our planet.
Greater Manchester Mayor
Andy Burnham has been clear:
Greater Manchester will have a
world-class transport network.
It will be more integrated, digital
and affordable. It will be safer,
greener and enable seamless
travel across the city region.
15
Infrastructure
The Bee Network:
GM Mayor Andy Burnham’s
plans to create a contactless
black-and-yellow transport
network by 2024, including:
● Franchised bus network
● Bike hire scheme
● 300 electric vehicle
charging points
● 100km of walking and
cycling routes
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Align our digital ambitions
with the placemaking agenda
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How we
get there
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Infrastructure
In Greater Manchester our digital ambitions are already significant.
Last year’s Greater Manchester Digital Blueprint threw down the
gauntlet - we are committed to becoming a world-leading digital
city region. And we have all the ingredients to achieve this - we’re
Europe’s fastest growing tech hub and our digital economy is worth
£5bn, with new high-value jobs being created every year. But to take
this from a growth area to a global differentiator, we must connect
all of the different parts of the digital economy.
What’s missing is a plan that brings together digital and
placemaking, to drive the digitisation of our city and suburb towns.
It would outline a fully digitally-enabled public services system,
including healthcare and community facilities, waste collection
and utilities. It would define the opportunities that digitisation can
connect our residents and businesses to across Greater Manchester.
Inclusivity is crucial - from guaranteeing full fibre connectivity which
is fair, reliable and available to every house and business across the
city region, to ensuring that all of our residents are fully trained in
and able to take advantage of digital innovations. The Greater
Manchester Digital Inclusion Taskforce was launched in December
2020 to address the digital divide. If we deliver on closing this gap,
and create an integrated plan that brings our digital ambition
together with the placemaking agenda, we will create a liveable
city region that attracts new residents, visitors and investment.
We need to look at
accessing public services
in a more creative way
through digitisation.
This can be how we
differentiate across both
the UK and Europe.
Greater Manchester
has a £5bn digital
economy with an
ambition to be a
world-leading digital
city region (Greater
Manchester Digital
Blueprint 2020).
SIR HOWARD
BERNSTEIN
Strategic Advisor,
Deloitte
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Infrastructure
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Take a collective approach
to city region planning
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How we
get there
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Infrastructure
Greater Manchester is already seen as a benchmark for regional
collaboration, but if we are to become the most liveable city region
in Europe we need to go further and properly understand the
strengths of our suburb towns across the ten boroughs.
We need outstanding levels of leadership at both a city and town
level, collaborating to achieve the best outcomes for the region as a
whole. This will require investment in place management in local
councils, ensuring they have the skills and tools to activate existing
plans - such as Places for Everyone - and collaborate to build new
infrastructure plans, whether digital or transport focussed. Within
this, there should be a focus on some of our less affluent areas -
especially in the North of Manchester - to enable greater equality
across the city region.
A collective approach to planning will enable us to create and better
connect vibrant places and spaces across Greater Manchester. In
doing so, we will ensure our region as a whole is a net contributor to
the UK economy, acting as a shining example to other regional
economies on how to maximise growth.
CHRIS OGLESBY
CEO, Bruntwood
Greater Manchester
should be a collection
of thriving towns with
two thriving cities.
“
PROFESSOR
CATHY PARKER
Chair of the Institute
of Place Management
at Manchester
Metropolitan University
We will only create a
liveable and loveable
place through
investment in local
governance.
“
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Infrastructure
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SUSTAINABILITY
Our 2030 vision
Greater Manchester is a global leader in sustainability.
We are a climate resilient city region. We are well on the way to
Net Zero, on track for our 2038 target and well ahead of other
city regions in the UK and our competitor cities globally.
Sustainability is baked into both our placemaking strategy and
execution. Our building methods have energy efficiency at their
core, and new build properties are designed with low carbon
goals in mind - attracting interest from investors and policy
makers from around the world.
Our business community has embraced sustainability. It is at
the top of every board agenda. This responsible approach to
both the wider community and the environment has become
a hallmark of Greater Manchester businesses.
We have a thriving natural environment and are seen as the
UK’s leading light in driving air quality improvements - with both
the physical and digital infrastructure investments of the past
decade paying dividends.
This is a city region that our residents are proud to live in.
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Sustainability
“Manchester has always
led by example. It’s a
place of firsts. Let’s
be the first to Net Zero.
Jonathan Kini
Managing Director,
Direct Consumer
& B2B, TalkTalk
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Sustainability
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How we
get there
Innovate
our way
to zero
carbon
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Sustainability
Our aspirations as a city region are already bold.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority aims to
be carbon neutral by 2038 – over a decade ahead
of the UK’s 2050 target.
But getting there is going to require clever
interventions across the public and private
sectors. We need a clear definition of our carbon
capture, utilisation and storage strategy, and how
we will differentiate ourselves from other cities.
And crucially - we need plans for the final push
that will be needed following major planned
infrastructure upgrades to transport and
housing that will get us part of the way there.
This is where we have the opportunity to become
known as the region that solved the zero carbon
challenge through collaboration and innovation.
It will require our incredible low carbon sector -
which already generates revenues of £6.8bn per
year and employs 45,000 people - to come together
with academia, the business community and local
government and create solutions that don’t yet
exist. It’s a significant challenge but one this city
region can rise to.
JONATHAN KINI
Managing Director, Direct
Consumer & B2B, TalkTalk
Manchester working together
is a real truism, but to get to
our Net Zero goal we need to
innovate together to achieve
that last 30 percent.
“
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Sustainability
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This is the moving decade
for green infrastructure –
if we haven’t created a green
economy by 2030, we can’t
deliver on the 2038 carbon
neutral promise.
STEPHEN CHURCH
North Markets Leader,
Manchester Office
Managing Partner, EY
“
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Sustainability
The narrative would
be not just achieving
the Net Zero targets,
but using innovative
solutions to get there.
PROFESSOR
CATHY PARKER
Chair of the Institute
of Place Management
at Manchester
Metropolitan University
“
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Sustainability
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How we
get there
Clean up
Greater
Manchester’s
air
2
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Sustainability
Air pollution contributes to an estimated 1,200 early deaths in the
region each year. There is such a clear health incentive to get this
right and make Greater Manchester an even more attractive place
to live, work and play - and on paper, the initiatives our city region
is putting in place will transform our air quality by 2030. Now it’s
all about execution.
The Bee Network - the UK’s largest cycling and walking network -
will connect every area and community in Greater Manchester,
increasing active travel and reducing the number of cars on the
road. The Clean Air Zone - which covers all local roads in Greater
Manchester with the most polluting vehicles paying a charge - is
due from 2022. The Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040
sees us establish a fully integrated, high capacity transport system
- for a cleaner, greener city region.
Make this happen and we will be a global leader in air quality,
to the benefit of every single Greater Manchester resident.
Greater Manchester is
one of only 20 city regions
globally to submit clean
energy and emissions
data to the open-source
Cities Data portal at the
metropolitan scale.
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Sustainability
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How we
get there
Create a
sustainable
approach
to living
3
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Sustainability
Our digital infrastructure
provides us the opportunity to
drive the low carbon agenda –
enabling less commuting, and
more efficient ways of working.
“
JONATHAN KINI
Managing Director, Direct
Consumer & B2B, TalkTalk
We have the opportunity to revolutionise our
approach to placemaking. Greater Manchester
has been successful in transforming its skyline
over the last 20 years, and if we collectively turn
our efforts towards sustainable living we can
transform that too.
Enforcement of regulations around the materials
and methods used in all new build developments in
the city region - with a focus on energy efficiency
and low carbon - can force the issue. We can get
ahead of national regulation that will see gas boilers
banned in new build homes in the coming years
- and start opting for low carbon alternatives now,
understanding that the additional cost is a price
worth paying.
Our digital infrastructure provides us with the
opportunity to drive sustainable living too. Fibre
broadband is 80 per cent more efficient than
copper, meaning a faster more reliable connection
comes with significant environmental benefits. If
we grease the wheels of the fibre roll out we will
reduce our carbon output dramatically. At the same
time, better connectivity will support residents
and businesses to continue both remote and
hybrid working post-pandemic, cutting commuting
and the associated environmental harm.
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Sustainability
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BUSINESS
Our 2030 vision
Manchester is a unicorn factory - we have created the conditions
to continually produce world leading businesses.
Our sector strengths have never been clearer. We are admired
globally for our clusters across advancing materials and
manufacturing, healthcare innovation, digital and creative, and
clean growth. And we’re continually honing a pipeline of skills
which ensures innovation in these areas never slows down.
Our funding ecosystem is diverse, with new investors flocking to
the city region after each success story - meaning entrepreneurs
can always access the right funding at the right time. They lean on
a network of like-minded businesses, world-class researchers
and public sector organisations, that are all pulling in the same
direction: this is true innovation.
Equal opportunities and diversity are championed at every level
of our city region. This is a place of opportunity without limits.
Ultimately, this has driven increased prosperity and inclusive
growth across Greater Manchester. Employment rates, GVA and
investment are on a continued upward trajectory, and we have
created a magnetic pull for talent from across the globe. All eyes
are looking to what we will achieve next.
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Business
“Manchester will be
a city where unicorns
are born and scaled.
CAMERON LEE
Director,
Total Processing
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Business
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Build a truly diverse funding system
that works for all
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How we
get there
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Business
Our city region must create a strong, sustainable
funding ecosystem that can continually take a
start-up through to unicorn.
Unicorns are businesses worth over $1bn.
Greater Manchester already has five of the UK’s
digital tech unicorns (12 Clusters of Tech Report).
Our region is regularly amongst the most active
within the UK when it comes to deal activity, but
our ambitions must go further. We can’t have
entrepreneurs leaving for London, New York or
the West Coast of America. Ours should be a hub
that attracts a more diverse pool of investors
than it does now, from high net worth individuals
and specialist venture capitalists to private equity
and debt funds - whether they are based in the
city or the other side of the world. That’s what
will drive healthy competition and ensure
entrepreneurs get the right deal. For founders,
our city will be one brimming with opportunities
to grow and create something significant.
Greater Manchester is home to six business
incubators and seven business accelerators (BEIS).
Crucially, we must break the barriers to funding.
We have brilliantly diverse demographics and
we need an inclusive investment environment
to match - with funding and support available to
founders from all backgrounds. Greater diversity
and inclusion means greater creativity, innovation
and ultimately value creation.
Diverse founding teams have higher returns
when cash is returned to investors (Kauffman
Fellows Research Centre).
We’ve already seen what a collective effort across
the city can do to promote growth in our key
sectors. We will keep up this momentum, and
by 2030 we will be globally recognised as world
leaders for creating unicorn businesses in
healthcare innovation, digital and creative,
clean growth and advanced manufacturing.
There has been an average of one tech investment
deal every three days in Greater Manchester
between 2011 and 2020 (Beauhurst).
JAVED HUQ
Executive Director,
GP Bullhound
JUERGEN MAIER CBE
Vice Chair,
Northern Powerhouse
Partnership
We have the capabilities
and track record to
create unicorns, and we
should build a structure
behind us to achieve it
more frequently.
The prosperity of the
Industrial Revolution was
created by the machinery
not the cotton, and this time
it will be about the innovation
behind sustainable materials.
“
“
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Business
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Create the global benchmark for public
private partnerships that deliver innovation
2
How we
get there
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Business
Partnership has always been in our DNA, but
now’s the time to create a global benchmark.
We must shape our city centres to enable and
inspire collaboration, creating a thriving district
that is magnetic to businesses, entrepreneurs
and talent across the globe. This should start
in the heart of Manchester and Salford, with
connecting lines to world-leading clusters in
our 10 metropolitan boroughs.
Public and private partnerships can and do drive
real value in our region, but we must clearly define
what this relationship looks like to enable quicker
delivery of projects. We can set the model that
city regions around the world look towards
and emulate.
Transformational projects such as Innovation
GM clearly demonstrate the level of ambition that
should sit behind collaboration in our region. We
need to harness this approach and ensure that
every entrepreneur in the region has access to
world leading clusters, whether in our city
centres, suburbs or industrial parks.
Innovation GM
A blueprint for an innovation ‘supercluster’
across Greater Manchester.
● Single umbrella organisation for all local
and national partners from the public and
private sectors that have a stake in GM’s
innovation ecosystem
● Creating 100,000 jobs and a £7bn
economic benefit
● Boosting R&D investment and levelling up
the North
● Sectors: advanced materials and
manufacturing, health innovation,
digital and creative, clean growth
If we get this right, by 2030 we will have created a
platform that enables businesses to collaborate
seamlessly across industry sectors, with the
public sector and academia to maximise innovation.
JOANNE RONEY OBE
CEO, Manchester
City Council
By 2030, we’ll be
internationally
regarded as the
place that innovates.
“
PROFESSOR RICHARD JONES
Vice President for Regional
Innovation & Civic Engagement,
University of Manchester
What always strikes me
is the sense of common
partnership and
purpose in Manchester.
“
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Business
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Next
Amplify all of our successes globally
through a compelling business narrative
3
How we
get there
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Business
We need to carve out a positioning globally as the
entrepreneur’s city. A place where people come
to bring ideas to life, where people believe in the
art of the possible - no matter their background.
This will only happen if we have complete alignment
in our narrative. Leaders from the region must be
relentless in promoting our sector strengths, our
business credentials and the fact we have created
the conditions to continually produce unicorns.
A lot of work has been done already to define this
narrative. Greater Manchester’s Local Industrial
Strategy and Innovation GM set out the sectors
the city region should focus on, but this needs
to be communicated in a compelling way to the
wider business community.
Greater Manchester Local Industrial
Strategy Opportunity sectors:
● Health innovation
● Advanced materials and manufacturing
● Digital, creative and media
● Clean growth
We must amplify all of our successes globally,
attracting more ambitious businesses and
investors. But we can’t be a talking shop. We need
to tell the stories of real talent, entrepreneurs,
organisations and their achievements. AO, The Hut
Group, On The Beach are the names that ring true
now - but who will be the next generation of unicorns
that will demonstrate the merits of our region?
If we do this consistently, we will become
recognised for our cluster, collaboration and
innovation strengths. It will become clear that
no city in the world has the depth and scale of
support for entrepreneurs that we do.
We have all the
component parts, but
we need to ‘PR’ them.
“
MIKE BLACKBURN OBE
Chair, Greater Manchester
International & Marketing
Advisory Board
TIM NEWNS
CEO, MIDAS
We’re not a city built
on rhetoric, we’re a
city built on action.
We’re getting back
to the ambitions of
our Victorian roots.
“
“
STUART LAW
CEO, Assetz Capital
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Business
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TALENT
Our 2030 vision
Greater Manchester is magnetic to talent from across the globe.
It is recognised as a place where ambitious people thrive, where
sought-after skills are taught and honed, a place where everyone
has an opportunity to play their part in true innovation.
Our skills and education offer is unrivalled. Close collaboration
between education, business and the public sector means that
our offer is completely aligned with the city region’s high growth
sectors. Our talent pipeline is enabling continued innovation.
We are maximising the potential of homegrown talent, with inclusive
platforms and pathways in place that ensure every resident in
Greater Manchester is able to reach their full potential.
Our global positioning as a unicorn factory means that ambitious
talent from around the world is flocking here, and staying. Everyone
wants in on the opportunities within our innovative clusters and
high growth businesses.
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Talent
“Greater
Manchester
can be the
global hub for
the best talent.
Ferran Soriano
CEO, Manchester City FC
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Talent
Prev
Next
How we
get there
Enable homegrown talent
to reach their full potential
1
40
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Talent
Becoming a global hub for talent starts at home.
We simply cannot be a successful city region
unless that success is felt by every resident that
lives here. This means inspiring the next generation,
and throwing out the archaic thinking that you
have to be academic to access quality jobs.
To do this, we must focus on driving greater
diversity in leadership at all levels, but especially in
key decision-making areas. First-hand experiences
of some of the barriers to accessing career
opportunities will enable us to shape strategy and
policy that create real and lasting impact. And we
must educate employers on the benefits of diversity
rather than waiting for thinking to catch up.
Greater Manchester had more than 1,333,000
residents in employment in 2020 – an employment
rate of 74.2 per cent (Office of Labour
Market Statistics).
Our employment rate must rise, but to truly
enable our residents to reach their full potential,
the focus should be on improving the quality
of opportunities for those from the most
underprivileged areas of Greater Manchester.
A best-in-class model will engage under-represented
talent in designing the jobs of tomorrow - moving
beyond a traditional top down approach. It will
align employers and the public sector too, to ensure
that new employment opportunities contribute to
Greater Manchester’s high growth sectors while
inspiring the next generation of talent.
If we do this properly, we will ensure that
Greater Manchester is known as a fairer place
in 2030, where residents from all backgrounds
can succeed.
DR MARILYN COMRIE OBE
Greater Manchester
LEP Board Member
JANINE SMITH
Director of the GC
Business Growth Hub,
The Growth Company
We need to make
Manchester frictionless
when it comes to providing
opportunities to talent
from all backgrounds.
We need to be inspiring
the next generation of
homegrown scientists
and entrepreneurs.
“
“
41
Talent
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Create a pipeline of skills
that can drive innovation.
2
How we
get there
42
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Talent
We have an incredible opportunity in Greater
Manchester to create a tailored pipeline of skills
that is completely aligned with our high growth
sectors. This will ensure we drive innovation in
2030 and beyond.
Our traditional education structures cannot
respond to the speed of technological innovation
in our key sectors. To address this, we need to
prioritise bridging the skills gap between every
level of our education system, SMEs and large
businesses, and embrace new approaches for
skills development. Models like the Manchester
Innovation Activities Hub are truly
forward-thinking in this regard, but we should
always be thinking about what’s next and know
that others will follow.
The Manchester Innovation Activities Hub will
provide a highly novel vocational training centre,
rapidly upskilling, reskilling and retraining more
than 5,000 local residents in specialist skills of
the low carbon economy.
And we should actively encourage talent to move
across sectors, enabling us to use our expertise
in high growth sectors to influence and innovate
in new areas and drive greater value into the
wider economy.
This approach will ensure the pace of innovation
in Greater Manchester is unrivaled, and the best
talent will want to be here to play their part.
For the first time, businesses
are starting to find themselves
starved of talent. We have a
supply-side challenge to solve.
“
PHIL ADAMS
Managing Director &
Head of Global Technology
Group, Houlihan Lokey
43
Talent
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Attract and retain
world-class talent.
3
How we
get there
44
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Talent
Attracting and retaining the best talent starts with placing greater
emphasis on promoting all the incredible aspects the city region
has to offer - from sport, music and culture to the opportunity to
work for world class, ambitious and innovative businesses. But we
don’t need to compete with the likes of London, we’re a global city
in our own right.
Manchester has the UK’s highest number of overseas students
and almost 230,000 foreign professionals in the North West
(Invest in Manchester).
We must focus on driving comprehensive improvements in our
local, national and international transport networks. And we
should embrace the shift to greater remote working - there are
a large number of people that are moving out of London and we
can act as a strong draw as a location to live.
The city region welcomes more than 100,000 students to the
city each year (Invest in Manchester).
We must work harder to ensure talent stays in the region beyond
graduation. This means providing opportunities for students to
move into tailor-made jobs once graduated, enabling them to
immediately use the skills they have embedded during their course.
It means empowering a generation of digital natives to build the
next unicorns, and firmly put their roots down in the city by
surrounding them with best-in-class digital infrastructure.
More than half of Greater Manchester’s university students
stay for work after graduating, the second highest retention
rate in the UK (Higher Education Student Statistics).
If we make this a reality, Greater Manchester will be the location
of choice for ambitious talent across the globe, recognising the
enormous opportunities for personal and professional growth.
45
Talent
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CULTURE
Our 2030 vision
Greater Manchester is a place where every individual and
business feels at home. We embrace and celebrate the
cultures and backgrounds of all our residents and visitors,
but with a shared sense of identity.
Our values of inclusion, community and fun drive every
cultural offering in the city region. Events hosted across
Greater Manchester enrich the lives of our residents.
People come from far and wide to experience the vibrancy
of our region, and the world’s brightest creatives and
artists want to showcase their work and collaborate here.
Our venues are constantly evolving. World class
infrastructure and collaboration across the city region
ensures we host the biggest and best global events.
Crucially, our international reputation as a cultural
destination acts as a catalyst for growth and prosperity
across Greater Manchester. We have a thriving and varied
night time economy, cultural activity provides more jobs to
the city region than it has ever done before and our visitor
economy outperforms cities across Europe.
46
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Culture
By 2030 we will be on
an international stage
for culture - a place that
innovates and creates.
Joanne Roney OBE
CEO, Manchester
City Council
47
Culture
“
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How we
get there
1
Carve out a positioning as the
most diverse and welcoming
city region in Europe
48
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Culture
The Manchester International Festival (MIF) has
grown in scope and significance every year,
recognising, embracing and celebrating the
individual cultures and identities that make up
our city region. The opportunity now is to
replicate this approach across the year, creating
a calendar of activity across our cultural venues
that provide a wide range of options for our
residents and visitors to enjoy.
The Factory will be a permanent home for MIF,
providing a world class cultural space in the heart
of the city. It will present a year-round programme,
featuring artists from around the world, as well
as creating jobs, skills and training opportunities
for people from across the city.
The launch of The Factory in 2023 will be central to
this, however we need all of Greater Manchester’s
stakeholders - public and private - to pull in this
same direction. We need to involve local creatives
and artists, as well our residents in the curation
process, ensuring everything we offer is authentic.
And we need to do more to attract audiences from
ethnically and economically diverse backgrounds.
In 2030, Greater Manchester
will be celebrated for being the
most diverse city in Europe.
We underplay our culture
and diversity – it’s part of
the attraction, with a
diverse and welcoming
multicultural community.
JUERGEN MAIER CBE
Vice-chair, The Northern
Powerhouse Partnership
“
SIMON BEDFORD
Partner, Deloitte
Real Estate
Greater Manchester’s rich cultural heritage has
always shone brightly - whether it’s the Madchester
music scene of the nineties, the masterpieces of
L.S. Lowry or the feats of global sporting teams.
But there are so many more stories to tell. Our
region is brilliantly diverse, with cultures and
languages originating from every corner of the
globe. By 2030, we should look to solidify our
positioning as the most diverse and welcoming
city region in Europe.
Manchester ranked 19th in the Nesta European
Digital Social Innovation Index 2019 – measuring
how well cities support the creation, growth and
sustainability of diversity and inclusion initiatives.
“
49
Culture
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How we
get there
2
Realise our potential as
a home for global events
50
Prev
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Culture
Let’s not underestimate
the power of global events
in the region. It can play
a massive role in raising
the profile of a city.
DANIEL GIDNEY
CEO, Lancashire
Cricket Club
“
Greater Manchester has an incredible range of
venues including AO Arena, Bridgewater Hall, The
Halle, O2 Apollo, Castlefield Bowl and Manchester
Central, and in the coming years we will welcome The
Factory and the 23,500 capacity Co-op Live Arena to
the mix. Add to this the largest concentration of sports
venues in Europe in East Manchester, and we have a
venue ecosystem to rival any city around the world.
Manchester ranks in the global top 10 for the number
of concerts, ahead of Toronto, Amsterdam and
Sydney (Nestpick Best Cities for Generation Z).
Becoming an essential destination for the biggest global
events has to be our goal. Attracting organisers from
around the world to host in the city region - from
political meetings like the G7 or COP, to global business
expos and sporting competitions like the Olympics.
No ambition is too great.
Launched in 2019, Manchester Business Tourism
Strategy 2019–2025 aims to make the city a global
destination of choice for conferences that align with
the city’s priorities.
We have the resources and know-how - this is again all
about execution. To create the strongest possible bids
for the world’s most significant events, we must bring
together the region’s local authorities, major sporting
institutions and venues to collaborate in a way we’ve
never done before. Every stakeholder must be clearly
embedded in the culture of the city region and committed
to driving lasting improvements for our residents.
51
Culture
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How we
get there
3
Use culture as a
catalyst for growth
52
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Culture
The cultural sector was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic,
but it’s at the heart of Greater Manchester’s identity and can act
as a major catalyst for economic growth.
We’re already improving cultural spaces across the city region,
from the £13.5million expansion of Manchester Museum to the
refurbishment and extension of Contact Theatre. Our opportunity
lies in capitalising on this investment and driving more.
Visits to Manchester grew by 60% between 2013 and 2019,
compared to a 22% average growth rate across the UK (2019
International Passenger Survey, Visit Britain/ONS).
Our cultural activity can drive a thriving tourist economy, attracting
visitors from across the UK and much further afield. By 2030,
Greater Manchester should become the must-go place for tourists
looking for a city break in Europe, offering a range of cultural,
sporting and global experiences unparalleled by other cities.
Global events should provide high quality jobs for our residents
and opportunities for local companies to be part of the supply chain.
The city’s global visibility will offer investors a huge opportunity to be
part of a thriving city region economy across a number of sectors,
opening up investment opportunities either directly aligned with our
global events or via the creation of infrastructure to support them.
Manchester needs
to be that place of
choice again, where
people are coming
back to invest, live,
work and play.
“
MIKE BLACKBURN OBE
Chair Greater Manchester
International & Marketing
Advisory Board
53
Culture
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A big thank you to all the
leaders across our city
region who were involved
in compiling this report.
PHIL ADAMS
Managing Director
& Head of Global
Technology Group,
Houlihan Lokey
SIMON BEDFORD
Partner, Deloitte
Real Estate
ANDY BELL
CEO, AJ Bell
SIR HOWARD BERNSTEIN
Strategic Advisor,
Deloitte
MIKE BLACKBURN OBE
Chair, Greater Manchester
International & Marketing
Advisory Board
ANDY BURNHAM
Mayor of Greater
Manchester
STEPHEN CHURCH
North Markets Leader,
Manchester Office
Managing Partner
DR MARILYN COMRIE OBE
Greater Manchester
LEP Board Member
DANIEL GIDNEY
CEO, Lancashire
Cricket Club
JOHN HAYHURST
Partner, ECI
KIERAN HEMSWORTH
UK Managing Director,
PZ Cussons
NILE HENRY
CEO, The Blair Project
54
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Contributors
JAVED HUQ
Executive Director,
GP Bullhound
RICHARD JEFFERY
National Director,
GC Business –
The Growth Company
PROFESSOR
RICHARD JONES
Vice President for
Regional Innovation
& Civic Engagement,
University of Manchester
JONATHAN KINI
Managing Director,
Direct Consumer
and B2B, TalkTalk
STUART LAW
CEO, Assetz Capital
CAMERON LEE
Director,
Total Processing
JUERGEN MAIER CBE
Vice Chair, Northern
Powerhouse Partnership
JIMMY MCLOUGHLIN OBE
Strategic adviser, MC2
TIM NEWNS
CEO, MIDAS
CHRIS OGLESBY
CEO, Bruntwood
PROFESSOR
CATHY PARKER
Chair of the Institute
of Place Management ,
Manchester Metropolitan
University
MIKE PERLS MBE
MC2 Chair &
Non-Executive Director
PROFESSOR
MALCOLM PRESS CBE
Vice-Chancellor,
Manchester
Metropolitan University
JOANNE RONEY OBE
CEO, Manchester
City Council
PROFESSOR DAME
NANCY ROTHWELLL
President and Vice-Chancellor,
The University of Manchester
JOHN SHARKEY
Project Director of
Kai Tak Sports Park
JANINE SMITH
Director of the GC
Business Growth Hub,
The Growth Company
SHEONA SOUTHERN
Managing Director,
Marketing Manchester
FERRAN SORIANO
CEO, Manchester City FC
VIC STEWART
CFO, The Alchemist.
Founder, the 6% Club
55
Contributors
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hello@thisismc2.com
+44 161 236 1352
56
The vision for Greater Manchester in 2030
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Next
#GM2030
Prev
Greater Manchester
in 2030
Next
Greater Manchester has made
real progress in the past few years.
We’ve set the standard for English
devolution and have a strong track
record of delivering for our people
and places. We’re already showing
what real levelling up means for our
city region. As we move forward,
we all have a part to play in making
this a greener, fairer, and more
prosperous place for everyone.
ANDY BURNHAM
Mayor of Greater
Manchester
“
2
The vision for Greater Manchester in 2030
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3
Contents
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Executive summary
6
Introduction
4
Contents
Where we are now
8
Sustainability
20
Talent
38
Contributors
54
Infrastructure
12
Business
30
Culture
46
As we moved out of a
very difficult period
for our city it felt like
an opportune moment
to capture some of that
visionary thinking.
MIKE PERLS MBE
MC2 Chairman &
Non-executive Director
“
4
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Introduction
MC2 has been privileged over the years to see up close how leaders
from across our city region have created success stories that set
global standards. We’ve seen it in business, academia, sport and
local government. Greater Manchester both produces and attracts
visionaries that are able to mix strategic insight with a relentless
focus on execution.
As we moved out of a very difficult period for our city it felt like
an opportune moment to capture some of that visionary thinking.
We convened leaders from the public and private sectors with a
track record of world-class execution to create a vision for 2030.
When these individuals say they are going to do something, they do
it. This report articulates that collective vision, and identifies the
areas we must get right in order to achieve it.
As a city region, we must continue the discussion that this paper
provokes. If plans aren’t in place for each element then let’s put
them in place. Let’s convene working groups to look at the key
areas in greater detail and how we move them forward:
infrastructure, sustainability, business, talent and culture.
The ambition behind this vision is significant, but by no means out
of reach. Greater Manchester has always led the way, and there
is a collective desire for this to continue. Now it’s simply about
making it happen.
Introduction by
Mike Perls MBE
5
Introduction
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Executive
summary
In 2030, Greater Manchester will be known globally
as a city region that works better for its residents.
A place of opportunity. From a technology-driven
transport system that connects people to
employment, to a thriving funding ecosystem
that supports diverse entrepreneurs and
models for skills development that maximise
homegrown talent.
It will be a place of innovation, but on a scale
even higher than what has been achieved before.
Innovation born out of best practice collaboration;
innovation that enables the region to reach Net
Zero targets and creates highly skilled jobs for
its residents.
This will all ensure Greater Manchester is magnetic
- to entrepreneurs, investors and talent. People
and businesses will flock here, and stay. Not just
for the opportunities on offer to them, but
because Greater Manchester is a fair and
diverse city region that feels like home to all.
6
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Executive summary
This is how
we get there
Infrastructure
1. Make a world-class transport
system a reality
2. Align our digital ambitions
with the placemaking agenda
3. T ake a collective approach to
city region planning
Sustainability
1. Innovate our way to
zero carbon
2. Clean up Greater
Manchester’s air
3. Create a sustainable
approach to living
Business
1. Build a truly diverse funding
system that works for all
2. Create the global benchmark
for public private
partnerships that deliver
innovation
3. Amplify our successes
globally through a compelling
business narrative
Talent
1. Enable homegrown talent
to reach their full potential
2. Create a pipeline of skills
that can drive innovation
3. Attract and retain
world-class talent
Culture
1. Carve out our position as the
most diverse and welcoming
city region in Europe
2. Realise our potential as a
home for global events
3. Use culture as a catalyst
for growth
7
Executive summary
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Where we
are now
8
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Where we are now
There are
99 Metrolink
tram stops
in Greater Manchester.
(Wikipedia, August 2022)
Greater
Manchester’s
total tree
cover is at
17%
(City of Trees, 2021)
Residential units are under
construction for the third
consecutive year.
(Deloitte, 2021)
12,000
sq ft of retail floorspace
under construction in 2021.
(Deloitte, 2021)
480,000
The amount Greater
Manchester will receive from
the City Region Sustainable
Transport Settlement,
towards Metrolink network
improvements and launch
of new bus corridors.
(GMCA, 2021)
£1.07bn
45%
Lower carbon
emissions
than in 2005.
(Manchester Climate
Agency, 2021)
60%
Over
Of trips in
Greater Manchester
are made by car.
(Greater Manchester
Infrastructure
Framework 2040, 2021)
More homes built
in Manchester city
centre in 2021
than ever before
(Deloitte, 2021)
In GM cycle at
least once a week.
(Manchester Climate
Agency, 2021)
13% of
residents
9
Where we are now
Infrastructure
Sustainability
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36%
of businesses in Greater
Manchester had concerns
about their viability, in line
with the average of 38%
for the North of England.
By February 2021
Business
73,906
students enrolled
at Manchester’s
universities in 2021.
(State of the City Report, 2021)
1 in 5
vacancies in Greater
Manchester are linked
to skills shortages.
(Local Skills Report &
Labour Market Plan, 2021)
1 in 10
of Greater Manchester’s
working age residents
has no qualifications.
(Local Skills Report &
Labour Market Plan, 2021)
40%
of graduates opt to stay
in Greater Manchester
post graduation.
(Local Skills Report &
Labour Market Plan, 2021)
of Manchester businesses
reported revenue levels
to be over 75% down on
business-as-usual July to
October 2021, considerably
higher than the 27% for the
North of England.
(State of the City Report, 2021)
58%
An average of
Greater Manchester
is home to
23,565
active enterprises -
an increase of 715
from the previous year.
(State of the City Report, 2021)
new businesses were formed
in Manchester in 2020.
(State of the City Report, 2021)
6,004
Talent
10
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Where we are now
80,000
Parklife 2021 tickets
were sold in 78 minutes.
(The Growth Company, 2021)
18,000
people visited the
Manchester Art
Gallery in the 11 weeks
it was open in 2020.
(State of the City Report, 2021)
11
The value of the visitor
economy pre-pandemic was
£9 billion;
it is estimated that during 2020
at least 70% of that value was lost.
(State of the City Report, 2021)
Greater Manchester has
of formal production
space, making it one of
the most significant
media hubs on Earth.
(The Growth Company, 2021)
1million
square
feet
90%
of Greater Manchester’s
Night Time Economy
businesses closed due to
the impact of COVID-19
(The Growth Company, 2021)
Culture
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Where we are now
INFRASTRUCTURE
Our 2030 vision
Greater Manchester is the most liveable city region in Europe.
Our residents and visitors move easily between two thriving cities,
Manchester and Salford, the vibrant economies of our suburb towns
and green spaces that add to and retain Greater Manchester’s
areas of natural beauty.
We have a fully-integrated, technology driven transport system that
not only rivals London, but our peers across the globe. Our local,
nationwide and global connections open up a world of opportunity
for the residents and businesses that reside here.
From the way people access public services, to the way they move
around the city region, Greater Manchester is digital-first and
inclusive of all. Use of the latest technologies provides an improved
quality of life for our residents. It attracts new visitors, as well as
ambitious businesses looking for a base from which to scale.
Our ‘liveable’ status is attracting continued UK and international
investment. We are moving up the World’s Best Cities Index and we
have solidified our position as the fastest growing tech hub in Europe.
12
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Infrastructure
ANDY BELL
CEO, AJ Bell
A transport deficit
cannot be part of the
discussion in 2030.
“
13
Infrastructure
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Make a world-class
transport system a reality
1
How we
get there
14
Prev
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Infrastructure
Ensuring this vision is realised by 2030 will
be crucial in driving our economy and social
prosperity across Greater Manchester. It
requires the whole city region getting behind
the plans. We must drive through the franchising
model across transport services, giving us the
ability to synchronise and develop integrated
ticketing on a scale that crosses modes and
develops a step change in performance.
We must enhance our national connections too,
continuing the development of Piccadilly Station
with HS2 and Northern Power Rail to drive greater
connectivity. Continuing to make a strong case
to central government to follow through on these
infrastructure investments is key.
To ensure our international connections drive
further investment, we should continue establishing
direct routes to major economies and focus on
building relationships and collaborating with
relevant local authorities in each to drive towards
agreements - building on the brilliant work to-date
of Manchester Airport Group (MAG). There’s
also the modernisation of our major transport
hubs - making arrival into Manchester feel like
a ‘wow’ experience.
In getting our transport system right, we would
unlock the biggest gains for Greater Manchester’s
residents, its businesses, the regional economy
and our planet.
Greater Manchester Mayor
Andy Burnham has been clear:
Greater Manchester will have a
world-class transport network.
It will be more integrated, digital
and affordable. It will be safer,
greener and enable seamless
travel across the city region.
15
Infrastructure
The Bee Network:
GM Mayor Andy Burnham’s
plans to create a contactless
black-and-yellow transport
network by 2024, including:
● Franchised bus network
● Bike hire scheme
● 300 electric vehicle
charging points
● 100km of walking and
cycling routes
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Align our digital ambitions
with the placemaking agenda
2
How we
get there
16
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Infrastructure
In Greater Manchester our digital ambitions are already significant.
Last year’s Greater Manchester Digital Blueprint threw down the
gauntlet - we are committed to becoming a world-leading digital
city region. And we have all the ingredients to achieve this - we’re
Europe’s fastest growing tech hub and our digital economy is worth
£5bn, with new high-value jobs being created every year. But to take
this from a growth area to a global differentiator, we must connect
all of the different parts of the digital economy.
What’s missing is a plan that brings together digital and
placemaking, to drive the digitisation of our city and suburb towns.
It would outline a fully digitally-enabled public services system,
including healthcare and community facilities, waste collection
and utilities. It would define the opportunities that digitisation can
connect our residents and businesses to across Greater Manchester.
Inclusivity is crucial - from guaranteeing full fibre connectivity which
is fair, reliable and available to every house and business across the
city region, to ensuring that all of our residents are fully trained in
and able to take advantage of digital innovations. The Greater
Manchester Digital Inclusion Taskforce was launched in December
2020 to address the digital divide. If we deliver on closing this gap,
and create an integrated plan that brings our digital ambition
together with the placemaking agenda, we will create a liveable
city region that attracts new residents, visitors and investment.
We need to look at
accessing public services
in a more creative way
through digitisation.
This can be how we
differentiate across both
the UK and Europe.
Greater Manchester
has a £5bn digital
economy with an
ambition to be a
world-leading digital
city region (Greater
Manchester Digital
Blueprint 2020).
SIR HOWARD
BERNSTEIN
Strategic Advisor,
Deloitte
“
17
Infrastructure
Prev
Next
Take a collective approach
to city region planning
3
How we
get there
18
Prev
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Infrastructure
Greater Manchester is already seen as a benchmark for regional
collaboration, but if we are to become the most liveable city region
in Europe we need to go further and properly understand the
strengths of our suburb towns across the ten boroughs.
We need outstanding levels of leadership at both a city and town
level, collaborating to achieve the best outcomes for the region as a
whole. This will require investment in place management in local
councils, ensuring they have the skills and tools to activate existing
plans - such as Places for Everyone - and collaborate to build new
infrastructure plans, whether digital or transport focussed. Within
this, there should be a focus on some of our less affluent areas -
especially in the North of Manchester - to enable greater equality
across the city region.
A collective approach to planning will enable us to create and better
connect vibrant places and spaces across Greater Manchester. In
doing so, we will ensure our region as a whole is a net contributor to
the UK economy, acting as a shining example to other regional
economies on how to maximise growth.
CHRIS OGLESBY
CEO, Bruntwood
Greater Manchester
should be a collection
of thriving towns with
two thriving cities.
“
PROFESSOR
CATHY PARKER
Chair of the Institute
of Place Management
at Manchester
Metropolitan University
We will only create a
liveable and loveable
place through
investment in local
governance.
“
19
Infrastructure
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SUSTAINABILITY
Our 2030 vision
Greater Manchester is a global leader in sustainability.
We are a climate resilient city region. We are well on the way to
Net Zero, on track for our 2038 target and well ahead of other
city regions in the UK and our competitor cities globally.
Sustainability is baked into both our placemaking strategy and
execution. Our building methods have energy efficiency at their
core, and new build properties are designed with low carbon
goals in mind - attracting interest from investors and policy
makers from around the world.
Our business community has embraced sustainability. It is at
the top of every board agenda. This responsible approach to
both the wider community and the environment has become
a hallmark of Greater Manchester businesses.
We have a thriving natural environment and are seen as the
UK’s leading light in driving air quality improvements - with both
the physical and digital infrastructure investments of the past
decade paying dividends.
This is a city region that our residents are proud to live in.
20
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Sustainability
“Manchester has always
led by example. It’s a
place of firsts. Let’s
be the first to Net Zero.
Jonathan Kini
Managing Director,
Direct Consumer
& B2B, TalkTalk
21
Sustainability
Prev
Next
How we
get there
Innovate
our way
to zero
carbon
1
22
Prev
Next
Sustainability
Our aspirations as a city region are already bold.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority aims to
be carbon neutral by 2038 – over a decade ahead
of the UK’s 2050 target.
But getting there is going to require clever
interventions across the public and private
sectors. We need a clear definition of our carbon
capture, utilisation and storage strategy, and how
we will differentiate ourselves from other cities.
And crucially - we need plans for the final push
that will be needed following major planned
infrastructure upgrades to transport and
housing that will get us part of the way there.
This is where we have the opportunity to become
known as the region that solved the zero carbon
challenge through collaboration and innovation.
It will require our incredible low carbon sector -
which already generates revenues of £6.8bn per
year and employs 45,000 people - to come together
with academia, the business community and local
government and create solutions that don’t yet
exist. It’s a significant challenge but one this city
region can rise to.
JONATHAN KINI
Managing Director, Direct
Consumer & B2B, TalkTalk
Manchester working together
is a real truism, but to get to
our Net Zero goal we need to
innovate together to achieve
that last 30 percent.
“
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Sustainability
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This is the moving decade
for green infrastructure –
if we haven’t created a green
economy by 2030, we can’t
deliver on the 2038 carbon
neutral promise.
STEPHEN CHURCH
North Markets Leader,
Manchester Office
Managing Partner, EY
“
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Sustainability
The narrative would
be not just achieving
the Net Zero targets,
but using innovative
solutions to get there.
PROFESSOR
CATHY PARKER
Chair of the Institute
of Place Management
at Manchester
Metropolitan University
“
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Sustainability
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How we
get there
Clean up
Greater
Manchester’s
air
2
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Sustainability
Air pollution contributes to an estimated 1,200 early deaths in the
region each year. There is such a clear health incentive to get this
right and make Greater Manchester an even more attractive place
to live, work and play - and on paper, the initiatives our city region
is putting in place will transform our air quality by 2030. Now it’s
all about execution.
The Bee Network - the UK’s largest cycling and walking network -
will connect every area and community in Greater Manchester,
increasing active travel and reducing the number of cars on the
road. The Clean Air Zone - which covers all local roads in Greater
Manchester with the most polluting vehicles paying a charge - is
due from 2022. The Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040
sees us establish a fully integrated, high capacity transport system
- for a cleaner, greener city region.
Make this happen and we will be a global leader in air quality,
to the benefit of every single Greater Manchester resident.
Greater Manchester is
one of only 20 city regions
globally to submit clean
energy and emissions
data to the open-source
Cities Data portal at the
metropolitan scale.
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Sustainability
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How we
get there
Create a
sustainable
approach
to living
3
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Sustainability
Our digital infrastructure
provides us the opportunity to
drive the low carbon agenda –
enabling less commuting, and
more efficient ways of working.
“
JONATHAN KINI
Managing Director, Direct
Consumer & B2B, TalkTalk
We have the opportunity to revolutionise our
approach to placemaking. Greater Manchester
has been successful in transforming its skyline
over the last 20 years, and if we collectively turn
our efforts towards sustainable living we can
transform that too.
Enforcement of regulations around the materials
and methods used in all new build developments in
the city region - with a focus on energy efficiency
and low carbon - can force the issue. We can get
ahead of national regulation that will see gas boilers
banned in new build homes in the coming years
- and start opting for low carbon alternatives now,
understanding that the additional cost is a price
worth paying.
Our digital infrastructure provides us with the
opportunity to drive sustainable living too. Fibre
broadband is 80 per cent more efficient than
copper, meaning a faster more reliable connection
comes with significant environmental benefits. If
we grease the wheels of the fibre roll out we will
reduce our carbon output dramatically. At the same
time, better connectivity will support residents
and businesses to continue both remote and
hybrid working post-pandemic, cutting commuting
and the associated environmental harm.
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Sustainability
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BUSINESS
Our 2030 vision
Manchester is a unicorn factory - we have created the conditions
to continually produce world leading businesses.
Our sector strengths have never been clearer. We are admired
globally for our clusters across advancing materials and
manufacturing, healthcare innovation, digital and creative, and
clean growth. And we’re continually honing a pipeline of skills
which ensures innovation in these areas never slows down.
Our funding ecosystem is diverse, with new investors flocking to
the city region after each success story - meaning entrepreneurs
can always access the right funding at the right time. They lean on
a network of like-minded businesses, world-class researchers
and public sector organisations, that are all pulling in the same
direction: this is true innovation.
Equal opportunities and diversity are championed at every level
of our city region. This is a place of opportunity without limits.
Ultimately, this has driven increased prosperity and inclusive
growth across Greater Manchester. Employment rates, GVA and
investment are on a continued upward trajectory, and we have
created a magnetic pull for talent from across the globe. All eyes
are looking to what we will achieve next.
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Business
“Manchester will be
a city where unicorns
are born and scaled.
CAMERON LEE
Director,
Total Processing
31
Business
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Build a truly diverse funding system
that works for all
1
How we
get there
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Business
Our city region must create a strong, sustainable
funding ecosystem that can continually take a
start-up through to unicorn.
Unicorns are businesses worth over $1bn.
Greater Manchester already has five of the UK’s
digital tech unicorns (12 Clusters of Tech Report).
Our region is regularly amongst the most active
within the UK when it comes to deal activity, but
our ambitions must go further. We can’t have
entrepreneurs leaving for London, New York or
the West Coast of America. Ours should be a hub
that attracts a more diverse pool of investors
than it does now, from high net worth individuals
and specialist venture capitalists to private equity
and debt funds - whether they are based in the
city or the other side of the world. That’s what
will drive healthy competition and ensure
entrepreneurs get the right deal. For founders,
our city will be one brimming with opportunities
to grow and create something significant.
Greater Manchester is home to six business
incubators and seven business accelerators (BEIS).
Crucially, we must break the barriers to funding.
We have brilliantly diverse demographics and
we need an inclusive investment environment
to match - with funding and support available to
founders from all backgrounds. Greater diversity
and inclusion means greater creativity, innovation
and ultimately value creation.
Diverse founding teams have higher returns
when cash is returned to investors (Kauffman
Fellows Research Centre).
We’ve already seen what a collective effort across
the city can do to promote growth in our key
sectors. We will keep up this momentum, and
by 2030 we will be globally recognised as world
leaders for creating unicorn businesses in
healthcare innovation, digital and creative,
clean growth and advanced manufacturing.
There has been an average of one tech investment
deal every three days in Greater Manchester
between 2011 and 2020 (Beauhurst).
JAVED HUQ
Executive Director,
GP Bullhound
JUERGEN MAIER CBE
Vice Chair,
Northern Powerhouse
Partnership
We have the capabilities
and track record to
create unicorns, and we
should build a structure
behind us to achieve it
more frequently.
The prosperity of the
Industrial Revolution was
created by the machinery
not the cotton, and this time
it will be about the innovation
behind sustainable materials.
“
“
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Business
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Create the global benchmark for public
private partnerships that deliver innovation
2
How we
get there
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Business
Partnership has always been in our DNA, but
now’s the time to create a global benchmark.
We must shape our city centres to enable and
inspire collaboration, creating a thriving district
that is magnetic to businesses, entrepreneurs
and talent across the globe. This should start
in the heart of Manchester and Salford, with
connecting lines to world-leading clusters in
our 10 metropolitan boroughs.
Public and private partnerships can and do drive
real value in our region, but we must clearly define
what this relationship looks like to enable quicker
delivery of projects. We can set the model that
city regions around the world look towards
and emulate.
Transformational projects such as Innovation
GM clearly demonstrate the level of ambition that
should sit behind collaboration in our region. We
need to harness this approach and ensure that
every entrepreneur in the region has access to
world leading clusters, whether in our city
centres, suburbs or industrial parks.
Innovation GM
A blueprint for an innovation ‘supercluster’
across Greater Manchester.
● Single umbrella organisation for all local
and national partners from the public and
private sectors that have a stake in GM’s
innovation ecosystem
● Creating 100,000 jobs and a £7bn
economic benefit
● Boosting R&D investment and levelling up
the North
● Sectors: advanced materials and
manufacturing, health innovation,
digital and creative, clean growth
If we get this right, by 2030 we will have created a
platform that enables businesses to collaborate
seamlessly across industry sectors, with the
public sector and academia to maximise innovation.
JOANNE RONEY OBE
CEO, Manchester
City Council
By 2030, we’ll be
internationally
regarded as the
place that innovates.
“
PROFESSOR RICHARD JONES
Vice President for Regional
Innovation & Civic Engagement,
University of Manchester
What always strikes me
is the sense of common
partnership and
purpose in Manchester.
“
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Business
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Amplify all of our successes globally
through a compelling business narrative
3
How we
get there
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Business
We need to carve out a positioning globally as the
entrepreneur’s city. A place where people come
to bring ideas to life, where people believe in the
art of the possible - no matter their background.
This will only happen if we have complete alignment
in our narrative. Leaders from the region must be
relentless in promoting our sector strengths, our
business credentials and the fact we have created
the conditions to continually produce unicorns.
A lot of work has been done already to define this
narrative. Greater Manchester’s Local Industrial
Strategy and Innovation GM set out the sectors
the city region should focus on, but this needs
to be communicated in a compelling way to the
wider business community.
Greater Manchester Local Industrial
Strategy Opportunity sectors:
● Health innovation
● Advanced materials and manufacturing
● Digital, creative and media
● Clean growth
We must amplify all of our successes globally,
attracting more ambitious businesses and
investors. But we can’t be a talking shop. We need
to tell the stories of real talent, entrepreneurs,
organisations and their achievements. AO, The Hut
Group, On The Beach are the names that ring true
now - but who will be the next generation of unicorns
that will demonstrate the merits of our region?
If we do this consistently, we will become
recognised for our cluster, collaboration and
innovation strengths. It will become clear that
no city in the world has the depth and scale of
support for entrepreneurs that we do.
We have all the
component parts, but
we need to ‘PR’ them.
“
MIKE BLACKBURN OBE
Chair, Greater Manchester
International & Marketing
Advisory Board
TIM NEWNS
CEO, MIDAS
We’re not a city built
on rhetoric, we’re a
city built on action.
We’re getting back
to the ambitions of
our Victorian roots.
“
“
STUART LAW
CEO, Assetz Capital
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TALENT
Our 2030 vision
Greater Manchester is magnetic to talent from across the globe.
It is recognised as a place where ambitious people thrive, where
sought-after skills are taught and honed, a place where everyone
has an opportunity to play their part in true innovation.
Our skills and education offer is unrivalled. Close collaboration
between education, business and the public sector means that
our offer is completely aligned with the city region’s high growth
sectors. Our talent pipeline is enabling continued innovation.
We are maximising the potential of homegrown talent, with inclusive
platforms and pathways in place that ensure every resident in
Greater Manchester is able to reach their full potential.
Our global positioning as a unicorn factory means that ambitious
talent from around the world is flocking here, and staying. Everyone
wants in on the opportunities within our innovative clusters and
high growth businesses.
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Talent
“Greater
Manchester
can be the
global hub for
the best talent.
Ferran Soriano
CEO, Manchester City FC
39
Talent
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How we
get there
Enable homegrown talent
to reach their full potential
1
40
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Talent
Becoming a global hub for talent starts at home.
We simply cannot be a successful city region
unless that success is felt by every resident that
lives here. This means inspiring the next generation,
and throwing out the archaic thinking that you
have to be academic to access quality jobs.
To do this, we must focus on driving greater
diversity in leadership at all levels, but especially in
key decision-making areas. First-hand experiences
of some of the barriers to accessing career
opportunities will enable us to shape strategy and
policy that create real and lasting impact. And we
must educate employers on the benefits of diversity
rather than waiting for thinking to catch up.
Greater Manchester had more than 1,333,000
residents in employment in 2020 – an employment
rate of 74.2 per cent (Office of Labour
Market Statistics).
Our employment rate must rise, but to truly
enable our residents to reach their full potential,
the focus should be on improving the quality
of opportunities for those from the most
underprivileged areas of Greater Manchester.
A best-in-class model will engage under-represented
talent in designing the jobs of tomorrow - moving
beyond a traditional top down approach. It will
align employers and the public sector too, to ensure
that new employment opportunities contribute to
Greater Manchester’s high growth sectors while
inspiring the next generation of talent.
If we do this properly, we will ensure that
Greater Manchester is known as a fairer place
in 2030, where residents from all backgrounds
can succeed.
DR MARILYN COMRIE OBE
Greater Manchester
LEP Board Member
JANINE SMITH
Director of the GC
Business Growth Hub,
The Growth Company
We need to make
Manchester frictionless
when it comes to providing
opportunities to talent
from all backgrounds.
We need to be inspiring
the next generation of
homegrown scientists
and entrepreneurs.
“
“
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Talent
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Create a pipeline of skills
that can drive innovation.
2
How we
get there
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Talent
We have an incredible opportunity in Greater
Manchester to create a tailored pipeline of skills
that is completely aligned with our high growth
sectors. This will ensure we drive innovation in
2030 and beyond.
Our traditional education structures cannot
respond to the speed of technological innovation
in our key sectors. To address this, we need to
prioritise bridging the skills gap between every
level of our education system, SMEs and large
businesses, and embrace new approaches for
skills development. Models like the Manchester
Innovation Activities Hub are truly
forward-thinking in this regard, but we should
always be thinking about what’s next and know
that others will follow.
The Manchester Innovation Activities Hub will
provide a highly novel vocational training centre,
rapidly upskilling, reskilling and retraining more
than 5,000 local residents in specialist skills of
the low carbon economy.
And we should actively encourage talent to move
across sectors, enabling us to use our expertise
in high growth sectors to influence and innovate
in new areas and drive greater value into the
wider economy.
This approach will ensure the pace of innovation
in Greater Manchester is unrivaled, and the best
talent will want to be here to play their part.
For the first time, businesses
are starting to find themselves
starved of talent. We have a
supply-side challenge to solve.
“
PHIL ADAMS
Managing Director &
Head of Global Technology
Group, Houlihan Lokey
43
Talent
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Attract and retain
world-class talent.
3
How we
get there
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Talent
Attracting and retaining the best talent starts with placing greater
emphasis on promoting all the incredible aspects the city region
has to offer - from sport, music and culture to the opportunity to
work for world class, ambitious and innovative businesses. But we
don’t need to compete with the likes of London, we’re a global city
in our own right.
Manchester has the UK’s highest number of overseas students
and almost 230,000 foreign professionals in the North West
(Invest in Manchester).
We must focus on driving comprehensive improvements in our
local, national and international transport networks. And we
should embrace the shift to greater remote working - there are
a large number of people that are moving out of London and we
can act as a strong draw as a location to live.
The city region welcomes more than 100,000 students to the
city each year (Invest in Manchester).
We must work harder to ensure talent stays in the region beyond
graduation. This means providing opportunities for students to
move into tailor-made jobs once graduated, enabling them to
immediately use the skills they have embedded during their course.
It means empowering a generation of digital natives to build the
next unicorns, and firmly put their roots down in the city by
surrounding them with best-in-class digital infrastructure.
More than half of Greater Manchester’s university students
stay for work after graduating, the second highest retention
rate in the UK (Higher Education Student Statistics).
If we make this a reality, Greater Manchester will be the location
of choice for ambitious talent across the globe, recognising the
enormous opportunities for personal and professional growth.
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CULTURE
Our 2030 vision
Greater Manchester is a place where every individual and
business feels at home. We embrace and celebrate the
cultures and backgrounds of all our residents and visitors,
but with a shared sense of identity.
Our values of inclusion, community and fun drive every
cultural offering in the city region. Events hosted across
Greater Manchester enrich the lives of our residents.
People come from far and wide to experience the vibrancy
of our region, and the world’s brightest creatives and
artists want to showcase their work and collaborate here.
Our venues are constantly evolving. World class
infrastructure and collaboration across the city region
ensures we host the biggest and best global events.
Crucially, our international reputation as a cultural
destination acts as a catalyst for growth and prosperity
across Greater Manchester. We have a thriving and varied
night time economy, cultural activity provides more jobs to
the city region than it has ever done before and our visitor
economy outperforms cities across Europe.
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Culture
By 2030 we will be on
an international stage
for culture - a place that
innovates and creates.
Joanne Roney OBE
CEO, Manchester
City Council
47
Culture
“
Prev
Next
How we
get there
1
Carve out a positioning as the
most diverse and welcoming
city region in Europe
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Culture
The Manchester International Festival (MIF) has
grown in scope and significance every year,
recognising, embracing and celebrating the
individual cultures and identities that make up
our city region. The opportunity now is to
replicate this approach across the year, creating
a calendar of activity across our cultural venues
that provide a wide range of options for our
residents and visitors to enjoy.
The Factory will be a permanent home for MIF,
providing a world class cultural space in the heart
of the city. It will present a year-round programme,
featuring artists from around the world, as well
as creating jobs, skills and training opportunities
for people from across the city.
The launch of The Factory in 2023 will be central to
this, however we need all of Greater Manchester’s
stakeholders - public and private - to pull in this
same direction. We need to involve local creatives
and artists, as well our residents in the curation
process, ensuring everything we offer is authentic.
And we need to do more to attract audiences from
ethnically and economically diverse backgrounds.
In 2030, Greater Manchester
will be celebrated for being the
most diverse city in Europe.
We underplay our culture
and diversity – it’s part of
the attraction, with a
diverse and welcoming
multicultural community.
JUERGEN MAIER CBE
Vice-chair, The Northern
Powerhouse Partnership
“
SIMON BEDFORD
Partner, Deloitte
Real Estate
Greater Manchester’s rich cultural heritage has
always shone brightly - whether it’s the Madchester
music scene of the nineties, the masterpieces of
L.S. Lowry or the feats of global sporting teams.
But there are so many more stories to tell. Our
region is brilliantly diverse, with cultures and
languages originating from every corner of the
globe. By 2030, we should look to solidify our
positioning as the most diverse and welcoming
city region in Europe.
Manchester ranked 19th in the Nesta European
Digital Social Innovation Index 2019 – measuring
how well cities support the creation, growth and
sustainability of diversity and inclusion initiatives.
“
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Culture
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How we
get there
2
Realise our potential as
a home for global events
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Culture
Let’s not underestimate
the power of global events
in the region. It can play
a massive role in raising
the profile of a city.
DANIEL GIDNEY
CEO, Lancashire
Cricket Club
“
Greater Manchester has an incredible range of
venues including AO Arena, Bridgewater Hall, The
Halle, O2 Apollo, Castlefield Bowl and Manchester
Central, and in the coming years we will welcome The
Factory and the 23,500 capacity Co-op Live Arena to
the mix. Add to this the largest concentration of sports
venues in Europe in East Manchester, and we have a
venue ecosystem to rival any city around the world.
Manchester ranks in the global top 10 for the number
of concerts, ahead of Toronto, Amsterdam and
Sydney (Nestpick Best Cities for Generation Z).
Becoming an essential destination for the biggest global
events has to be our goal. Attracting organisers from
around the world to host in the city region - from
political meetings like the G7 or COP, to global business
expos and sporting competitions like the Olympics.
No ambition is too great.
Launched in 2019, Manchester Business Tourism
Strategy 2019–2025 aims to make the city a global
destination of choice for conferences that align with
the city’s priorities.
We have the resources and know-how - this is again all
about execution. To create the strongest possible bids
for the world’s most significant events, we must bring
together the region’s local authorities, major sporting
institutions and venues to collaborate in a way we’ve
never done before. Every stakeholder must be clearly
embedded in the culture of the city region and committed
to driving lasting improvements for our residents.
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How we
get there
3
Use culture as a
catalyst for growth
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Culture
The cultural sector was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic,
but it’s at the heart of Greater Manchester’s identity and can act
as a major catalyst for economic growth.
We’re already improving cultural spaces across the city region,
from the £13.5million expansion of Manchester Museum to the
refurbishment and extension of Contact Theatre. Our opportunity
lies in capitalising on this investment and driving more.
Visits to Manchester grew by 60% between 2013 and 2019,
compared to a 22% average growth rate across the UK (2019
International Passenger Survey, Visit Britain/ONS).
Our cultural activity can drive a thriving tourist economy, attracting
visitors from across the UK and much further afield. By 2030,
Greater Manchester should become the must-go place for tourists
looking for a city break in Europe, offering a range of cultural,
sporting and global experiences unparalleled by other cities.
Global events should provide high quality jobs for our residents
and opportunities for local companies to be part of the supply chain.
The city’s global visibility will offer investors a huge opportunity to be
part of a thriving city region economy across a number of sectors,
opening up investment opportunities either directly aligned with our
global events or via the creation of infrastructure to support them.
Manchester needs
to be that place of
choice again, where
people are coming
back to invest, live,
work and play.
“
MIKE BLACKBURN OBE
Chair Greater Manchester
International & Marketing
Advisory Board
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A big thank you to all the
leaders across our city
region who were involved
in compiling this report.
PHIL ADAMS
Managing Director
& Head of Global
Technology Group,
Houlihan Lokey
SIMON BEDFORD
Partner, Deloitte
Real Estate
ANDY BELL
CEO, AJ Bell
SIR HOWARD BERNSTEIN
Strategic Advisor,
Deloitte
MIKE BLACKBURN OBE
Chair, Greater Manchester
International & Marketing
Advisory Board
ANDY BURNHAM
Mayor of Greater
Manchester
STEPHEN CHURCH
North Markets Leader,
Manchester Office
Managing Partner
DR MARILYN COMRIE OBE
Greater Manchester
LEP Board Member
DANIEL GIDNEY
CEO, Lancashire
Cricket Club
JOHN HAYHURST
Partner, ECI
KIERAN HEMSWORTH
UK Managing Director,
PZ Cussons
NILE HENRY
CEO, The Blair Project
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Contributors
JAVED HUQ
Executive Director,
GP Bullhound
RICHARD JEFFERY
National Director,
GC Business –
The Growth Company
PROFESSOR
RICHARD JONES
Vice President for
Regional Innovation
& Civic Engagement,
University of Manchester
JONATHAN KINI
Managing Director,
Direct Consumer
and B2B, TalkTalk
STUART LAW
CEO, Assetz Capital
CAMERON LEE
Director,
Total Processing
JUERGEN MAIER CBE
Vice Chair, Northern
Powerhouse Partnership
JIMMY MCLOUGHLIN OBE
Strategic adviser, MC2
TIM NEWNS
CEO, MIDAS
CHRIS OGLESBY
CEO, Bruntwood
PROFESSOR
CATHY PARKER
Chair of the Institute
of Place Management ,
Manchester Metropolitan
University
MIKE PERLS MBE
MC2 Chair &
Non-Executive Director
PROFESSOR
MALCOLM PRESS CBE
Vice-Chancellor,
Manchester
Metropolitan University
JOANNE RONEY OBE
CEO, Manchester
City Council
PROFESSOR DAME
NANCY ROTHWELLL
President and Vice-Chancellor,
The University of Manchester
JOHN SHARKEY
Project Director of
Kai Tak Sports Park
JANINE SMITH
Director of the GC
Business Growth Hub,
The Growth Company
SHEONA SOUTHERN
Managing Director,
Marketing Manchester
FERRAN SORIANO
CEO, Manchester City FC
VIC STEWART
CFO, The Alchemist.
Founder, the 6% Club
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Contributors
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hello@thisismc2.com
+44 161 236 1352
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The vision for Greater Manchester in 2030
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#GM2030
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