Huge £1bn development next to major motorway set to take another step towards reality

A huge employment scheme worth around £1bn to the local economy is set to take another step towards reality.

The Northern Gateway project, which forms part of the wider Atom Valley development zone, is expected to generate more than 20,000 high-quality jobs and bring a £1bn economic boost to Rochdale and Bury. Both borough’s town hall bosses will be asked to approve a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for the game-changing project.

The development of 1.2m square metres of employment space straddles the Bury and Rochdale border, close to junction 19 of the M62.

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An SPD supports development by establishing planning principles for a particular area, which will be taken into consideration when planning applications are determined. Having an SPD in place can make it easier to bring in external funding for a project.

The Northern Gateway Development Framework SPD will include details about the site, such as the proposed infrastructure, phasing and timescales, the design principles and the benefits it is expected to deliver.

The Northern Gateway covers employment sites at Heywood and Pilsworth, alongside housing at Simister and Bowlee, but the SPD focuses solely on the employment sites. Both sites were approved for development as part of the Places for Everyone plan.

If approved by the cabinets of both Rochdale and Bury councils, the SPD will go out to public consultation, with residents and businesses encouraged to find out more and feed back their views.

Rochdale Council’s cabinet will consider the proposals on Tuesday, October 29, while the plan will go to Bury Council’s cabinet on Wednesday, November 6.

The Northern Gateway is part of the