Ashton and Stalybridge are set to be reshaped by a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), which will grant powers to drive forward the regeneration and redevelopment of the Tameside towns. The latest town hall meeting heard that special MDC powers, signed off by council bosses on August 26, would be used to grow the areas around transport hubs.
Connected towns with major growth plans
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously called Tameside one of the most connected local authorities outside of London, according to council leader Eleanor Wills. This is because Ashton’s incoming Bee Network hub is set to become the first to integrate train, tram and buses in Greater Manchester.
The towns are both ideal commuter spots, the meeting in council HQ heard, with Ashton being 10 minutes from Manchester city centre by train, and Stalybridge 12 minutes. New retail and leisure offers, as well as around 3,000 new homes, are part of the package this MDC is looking to bring in around train, tram and bus stations.
Public consultation and next steps
Town hall bosses formally approved the creation of the MDC earlier this year. Now a business case will be created for the scheme following feedback from public consultation. Of 119 responses gathered from Tameside residents, there was 61.3 per cent approval and 37 per cent opposition to the MDC. According to the same council papers, only 50.4 per cent agreed the MDC would support growth, with 26.1 per cent disagreeing and 21.9 per cent neutral.
Coun Eleanor Wills told her executive cabinet: “We talk about creating opportunities for our young people. Opening their eyes to a world where they can achieve because of being from Tameside, not despite being from Tameside, is the ambition. I feel privileged to be in the position to drive that forward.”
Ripple effect and development constraints
The meeting heard how this investment would create a ‘ripple effect’ that would benefit the borough’s other seven towns. Coun Joe Kitchen described this as ‘the start of the modernisation of our towns’. Growth, housing and homelessness boss, Coun Andrew McLaren, explained that the MDC was needed in order for the private sector, who would bring serious investment, to take the borough seriously.
The MDC area map will encompass both town centres of Ashton and Stalybridge, Ashton Moss and stretch out to Guide Bridge railway station. Although masterplans for the regeneration of Ashton and Stalybridge are already established, the MDC is required because the two towns currently suffer from development constraints, according to the local authority. The area was previously covered by a Mayoral Development Zone (MDZ), but that didn’t allow Tameside council the power to make land acquisitions or compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) to drive plans forward.
The executive cabinet meeting also formally accepted the £5.8m City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement funding from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). This cash would go towards supporting the ongoing delivery of town square improvement works in Ashton and Stalybridge.
