Greater Manchester, considered one of the UK’s largest and most influential cities, has long been a pioneer in regeneration and economic development. Devolution has enabled the city to accelerate delivery and set the gold standard for other urban areas to follow.

With the Combined Authority’s recent launch of its 10-year Growth and Prevention Delivery Plan, the region is set to create thousands of new jobs and homes over the next decade, helping to support its ongoing drive for greater opportunity for its communities.

Backed by strong leaders and a collective ambition, devolution has enabled the city to outpace its competitors, earning trailblazer status and setting a precedent for other authorities by taking control of its devolved powers to drive prosperity.

With the growth plan, alongside central government's £630 million funding settlement, the region is attracting significant levels of attention. While this increases the pressure to succeed, it also creates new opportunities for cross-regional collaboration, especially through the Northern growth corridor. GMCA has a track record of leveraging partnerships successfully, especially across the private sector, and while progress is already being made, it would be interesting to see a closer partnership with other authorities across the North to fuel wider regional growth.

By working with authorities such as in Liverpool, Cheshire and Lancashire, we could see more collaborative planning that will help drive investment to the wider regions, addressing improvements such as in transport infrastructure. Strengthening the Northern voice can enhance government relationships, and help turn the dial towards the North, generating more prosperity for the region.

While Greater Manchester has made significant strides in its regeneration efforts, the challenge lies in ensuring that growth plans reach all the boroughs and communities. Manchester City Council’s new chief executive, Tom Stannard, recently noted that they are heavily focused on addressing health inequality, delivering more social and affordable housing and enhancing skills development across the city. Stannard is looking to actively bridge that gap and calls for regional big employers to help drive diverse skills development. This is demonstrating where private sector collaboration comes in as vital for achieving those wider objectives.

The ongoing question to the market remains: how do we mobilise and support the Manchester strategy? It is important that the priorities remain clear to all sectors with parties focusing on streamlined delivery. By doing so we can minimise the risks and therefore craft a proven approach that will help the case for further fiscal devolution, outlining more achievable strides for other authorities and regions.

A successful model in Greater Manchester strengthens a nationwide case for further devolution, highlighting the benefits of a fairer distribution of economic growth across the UK, rather than defaulting to the safer option of investing in the South East. Ultimately, only the regions themselves can determine where investment will have the most impact.