The team behind Northern Gateway is moving forward with plans for Greater Manchester’s biggest and most significant proposed employment development.
Set within the Atom Valley Mayoral Development Zone, Northern Gateway was allocated in the Places for Everyone (PfE) joint development plan and is set to create a dynamic and nationally significant employment destination. It will drive jobs and investment in the northern boroughs, supporting a rebalancing of the city region’s economy.
Now the Northern Gateway Development Vehicle (NGDV), a 50/50 partnership between Russell LDP and Harworth Group, has submitted a request for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Scoping Opinion to Bury Council and Rochdale Council, kick-starting the next stage of the planning process.
Northern Gateway is located at a strategically important intersection around the M60, M62 and M66 motorways, with the 630 hectare allocated site straddling the Bury and Rochdale border. Both councils are currently working up a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for the employment-led destination to provide more detailed policy on what should be developed. It has been announced today that the Councils will publish a draft SPD for consultation next month.
As the development vehicle with control over the largest portion of the PfE allocation, the Northern Gateway Development Vehicle has begun the scoping process for the whole site. The partnership is expecting to submit an outline planning application in 2025 for the development of around half of the land. The scoping process will facilitate in-depth discussion and feedback with the councils and wider statutory stakeholders to help inform the developers’ masterplanning work and technical assessments.
It’s all part of the Atom Valley vision, a cluster of Greater Manchester sites set to deliver world-class, cross-sector employment destinations within the northern boroughs of the city region, boosting the economy and creating a flux of new skilled jobs.
A spokesperson for the Northern Gateway Development Vehicle said: “Whilst we’re progressing at pace, it’s important we do so in a considered way with both councils and wider stakeholders. This work – exploring the technical constraints and major opportunities of development at the site – will underpin our work on a detailed masterplan and ultimately the planning application we intend to submit next year. The submitted Scoping Report considers the whole allocation site, however the detail of what will be included in our planning application will be outlined when we consult on the plans next year.”
The request for a Scoping Opinion outlines the proposed uses at Northern Gateway, including state-of-the-art, flexible employment spaces; on-site renewable energy generation; new homes; travel hubs, walking and cycling routes; landscaping and areas of publicly-accessible green open space; and off-site highways improvement works.
To ensure all environmental impacts are assessed, the EIA Scoping Report considers the potential upper limits of proposed development across the whole PfE allocation, the various environmental considerations that will be taken into account and how any impacts will be mitigated. The EIA needs to account for all eventualities, regardless of whether they are realistically being pursued at this stage.
The Northern Gateway Development Vehicle plans to carry out public and community consultation on its proposals once they are sufficiently progressed. Those interested in its progress can find FAQs and register for updates via a new community website: www.northerngatewayconsultation.co.uk
In Places for Everyone, the Northern Gateway allocation is made up of two development sites. The employment-led destination (which also includes some housing) is referenced as JP Allocation 1.1: Heywood / Pilsworth, with a residential site referenced as JP Allocation 1.2: Simister and Bowlee.
The Northern Gateway Development Vehicle is also in the early stages of considering proposals for the 1.2 residential allocation, which will follow at a later date to the employment
site and also be subject to an SPD and separate consultation.