Greater Manchester Investment Zone
| Greater Manchester Investment Zone (investment, corporatism, privatisation) | |
|---|---|
| A local fiefdom leading to a corporate carve-up |
The Greater Manchester Investment Zone was announced by the then-Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in November 2023, as part of the Autumn Statement. It came with a £160 million state aid package from Whitehall, earmarked for infrastructure, skills, and “business support” over ten years.[1]
Mayoral welcome
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham welcomed the announcement:
- “The Investment Zone will help us attract investment and create jobs and opportunities that will benefit people across Greater Manchester.
- “It’s also a vote of confidence in devolution and its ability to deliver levelling up.”
Stated goal
The Investment Zone's stated goal is to create 32,000 jobs in advanced manufacturing and materials, and leverage £1.1 billion private investment into key development sites including:
- Atom Valley in Bury, Oldham and Rochdale;
- Salford Crescent; and,
- Innovation District Manchester.
Investment fund
Additional funding will be provided for opportunities outside these three developments to strengthen the wider innovation ecosystem, include a multi-million-pound revolving investment fund to provide debt and equity finance to local advanced manufacturing and materials businesses across the whole of Greater Manchester, and £5 million to support skills development.
The Greater Manchester Investment Zone has chosen not to designate any tax sites.
The Greater Manchester Investment Zone is supported by University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Salford, and University of Bolton.[2]
Corporate carve-up
The UK government has committed to establishing 13 Investment Zones across the UK.
Critics fear that these Investment Zones will accelerate the transformation of British democracy into local fiefdoms and lead to a corporate carve-up of the UK.[3]