Manchester is fast becoming a central hub of economic activity not just for the north of England, but also the UK. Following from announcements in 2014 of The Northern Powerhouse project, the local economy in Manchester has been booming, with inward migration, job creation and GVA all increasing rapidly in the past decade.
These factors have conspired to increase demand for property, conversely increasing investment domestically and internationally in its property market, leading to a boom in development. Manchester’s skyline is changing drastically, with anybody taking a tour of the city quickly able to notice large scale projects underway in the city centre and stretching across to MediaCityUK.
With this increase in demand for property and jobs, the local council recently announced a new strategy for coping with the huge influx of residents and large migration to the city.
They’ve already done a pretty phenomenal job of building and expanding the city’s tram network, Metrolink. What started a small city centre transport route has now expanded as far as Rochdale, Oldham and Ashton-under-Lyne. That network is being expanded currently across the Trafford Park business district of the city with further plans to expand the network even more.
So what is the council’s vision for the city in the coming years? According to Transport for Greater Manchester’s (TfGM) proposals, the city centre will become much more pedestrianised and cycle friendly in order to make it easier to travel by foot and bicycle, for both aesthetic and pollution purposes.
Recent reports have Manchester as one of the most polluted cities outside of the capital, and councillors and the mayor, Andy Burnham, are concerned at the rise in air pollution and keen to curb the potential hazards.
According to the TfGM proposals, their vision is for: ‘World class connections that support long-term, sustainable economic growth and access to opportunity for all.”
One of the key aspects of the strategy, it seems, is to make it as easy as possible for residents to travel between Manchester and neighbouring cities such as Liverpool and Sheffield, with current links badly in need of modernisation.
The strategy proposal states “Many of our current inter-city road and rail networks are heavily congested and unreliable. Coupled with this are slow journey times. The transformation of transport between our cities would deliver significant economic and social benefits, not just for Greater Manchester, but right across the north.”
As Manchester reaches the next phase of its development, having already significantly grown in the past decade, it’s becoming clear that transport infrastructure is in need of improvement if the city and its contemporaries across the region are to become a global economic success.
The plans by the local authority are welcomed, and many are hoping that they’re seen through to conclusion.