Greater Manchester Town Regeneration Plans Move Forward 2026

Key Points

• Greater Manchester has now approved five new Mayoral Development Corporations, also known as MDCs, which include Oldham, Bolton, Middleton, Ashton-under-Lyne and Stalybridge.
• These proposals are aimed at enhancing regeneration, securing funding from both the public and private sectors, and encouraging the construction of more houses, jobs and improvements in transport infrastructure.
• The proposals have been approved by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in a meeting held at Wigan Town Hall on 25 September 2026.
• The proposals will then be sent to the Secretary of State for the formal designation process.
• The Mayoral Development Corporations are expected to be officially established next year 2027.
• The proposals by Oldham include 2,000 homes, improvements of Tommyfield Park and backing of the Northern Roots urban farm.
• Those by Tameside in the Ashton and Stalybridge Corridor are expected to support the creation of 3,000 homes and better transport connections to Manchester.
• The proposals by Middleton include 1,500 homes and improvements to commercial and leisure facilities.
• Those by Bolton will include 2,000 homes, jobs, hotel rooms, food and drinks premises and community facilities.
• There was a lot of support for all of the five proposals from the public consultations.

Manchester (Manchester Mirror) September 26, 2026 — Greater Manchester town regeneration plans moved to a significant new stage after Mayor Bev Craig and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority approved five proposed Mayoral Development Corporations covering Oldham, Bolton, Middleton, Ashton-under-Lyne and Stalybridge.

The proposals were approved by regional council leaders during a Greater Manchester Combined Authority meeting at Wigan Town Hall. The next step is for the plans to be forwarded to the Secretary of State, who must begin the formal process for establishing the corporations. The bodies are expected to launch in early 2027 if the required approvals are completed.

According to the Manchester Evening News report titled “The massive plans to boost five towns left behind by the Manchester boom”, the MDCs are designed to help the areas bring forward major projects more quickly and attract public and private investment.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority describes an MDC as a statutory body established by the mayor to speed up development and attract investment within a defined area. The authority says such bodies can support regeneration through powers connected with land, planning and infrastructure.

What has Greater Manchester approved?

The approved proposals cover five locations, although they are grouped into four development corporations:

• Oldham.
• Bolton town centre.
• Middleton.
• The Ashton and Stalybridge corridor in Tameside.

Together, the corporations are intended to create a stronger framework for regeneration in towns that the authorities say have not benefited from growth in the same way as Manchester city centre and some other parts of the region.

LocalGov previously reported that Mayor Bev Craig had backed the proposals before the final Greater Manchester Combined Authority decision. The publication said the consultation outcomes and formal endorsement were due to be considered at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority meeting on 25 September, with establishment expected in early 2027.

The approval does not mean that all the proposed buildings, homes or infrastructure will be delivered immediately. Instead, it advances the statutory process and creates a proposed delivery structure through which councils, the mayoral authority and development partners can work on regeneration schemes.

How could Oldham change under the plan?

The Oldham MDC would focus on town-centre regeneration and the delivery of new homes and public-space improvements.

The Manchester Evening News report said the plan includes around 2,000 homes in the town centre. It also refers to improvements to Tommyfield Park and the recently opened Northern Roots urban farm.

The proposed development is linked to the wider regeneration of Oldham town centre, including the area around Oldham Mumps station. Earlier Greater Manchester plans identified the Prince’s Gate scheme as part of a larger ambition to deliver 2,000 homes across the town centre over the next decade. A Greater Manchester Combined Authority announcement said the scheme included 331 homes next to the station, including 75 social homes.

The Oldham proposal is therefore intended to combine housing development with improvements to public areas and existing town-centre assets. The authority’s stated objective is to increase activity in the centre while improving the town’s ability to attract investment.

Public consultation was part of the process before the Greater Manchester Combined Authority decision. The reported support for the MDC means the proposal can now proceed to the next stage, although detailed planning decisions and funding arrangements will still be required for individual projects.

What is planned for Bolton town centre?

Bolton’s proposed MDC is focused on a broad package of town-centre projects.

According to the Manchester Evening News report, the plan includes 13 key projects. Together, those schemes are projected to deliver up to:

• 2,000 new homes.
• 31,000 square metres of employment space.
• About 300 hotel rooms and serviced apartments.
• 14,000 square metres of food and beverage space.
• More than 5,000 square metres for community and recreational uses.

The earlier Manchester Evening News report on the proposals described the Bolton plan as an attempt to raise the profile of the town and support new housing, commercial activity and visitor accommodation.

The development corporation model is intended to give the regeneration programme a single strategic framework. The proposed projects would still need to go through the relevant planning, funding and delivery processes, but the MDC would provide a mechanism for co-ordinating the work and attracting investment.

Bolton has also appeared in wider Greater Manchester growth plans. A regional announcement referred to a new Bolton MDC as part of a programme intended to create jobs and homes, while separate plans for Wingates included an 800,000-square-foot logistics hub with the potential for thousands of jobs.

Those wider schemes are not necessarily all part of the Bolton town-centre MDC, but they show how the authority has connected town-centre regeneration with broader economic development across the borough.

What does the Middleton proposal include?

The Middleton MDC is expected to support around 1,500 new homes, including affordable housing, alongside improvements to the town’s commercial and recreational offer.

The Manchester Evening News reported that the proposal would also seek to improve public spaces. More than 90 per cent of respondents to the consultation were reported to have supported the initiative.

Greater Manchester’s own information on the Middleton proposal says the plan is intended to accelerate town-centre regeneration and bring forward approximately 1,500 homes. The authority has identified Co-operatives UK chief executive Rose Marley and actor and writer Steve Coogan as figures involved in leading the proposed work.

The proposal reflects the wider purpose of an MDC: to bring landowners, councils, regional authorities and potential investors together around a defined regeneration area. In Middleton, that approach is expected to cover housing, retail and leisure activity, as well as the quality of the town’s public spaces.

The consultation result provides political support for the proposal, but the number of homes and other developments will depend on future plans, funding, land availability and planning approvals.

What is planned for Ashton and Stalybridge?

The Ashton and Stalybridge MDC is described as a transport-led regeneration body for the corridor linking the two Tameside towns.

The Manchester Evening News reported that the proposal could support approximately 3,000 new homes, including affordable housing, while improving transport connections to Manchester. It is also intended to create employment opportunities and improve local services and facilities.

Greater Manchester has previously described the corridor as an area where transport improvements could help unlock new neighbourhoods. In March 2026, the authority said the proposed MDC would support well-connected neighbourhoods in Ashton and Stalybridge through transport-led regeneration, bringing forward thousands of homes, jobs and opportunities.

The plan follows earlier in-principle decisions by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to explore an MDC for Ashton and Stalybridge with Tameside Council. A published Greater Manchester Combined Authority report said officers would work with the council on detailed options, with further decisions to follow.

The transport focus is important because the proposal is not limited to individual housing sites. Its stated aim is to connect development with public transport, local services and employment, allowing new homes to be planned alongside infrastructure.

Why are Mayoral Development Corporations being used?

Mayoral Development Corporations are intended to provide a formal delivery structure for regeneration in a defined area.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority says MDCs are statutory bodies set up by the mayor to speed up development and attract investment. They can have broad powers involving land acquisition, planning and infrastructure functions, depending on the arrangements approved for each area.

The model has already been used in Stockport. The Manchester Evening News described the Stockport MDC as a notable success, citing additional housing and a transport interchange in the town centre.

The proposed corporations for Oldham, Bolton, Middleton, Ashton and Stalybridge are intended to build on that approach. They are not simply funding announcements. Their purpose is to create organisations capable of coordinating land, planning, infrastructure and investment across multiple projects.

The five proposals are part of Greater Manchester’s wider strategy for regenerating town centres and distributing economic growth across the city region. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s published list of planned delivery bodies includes Bolton town centre, Oldham, Middleton and the Ashton–Stalybridge corridor, alongside other development zones and regeneration areas.

What happens next?

The proposals will now be sent to the Secretary of State to begin the formal designation process.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority approval is therefore a key procedural step, but it is not the final stage. The proposed MDCs must complete the statutory process before they can formally operate. The expected launch date is early 2027, subject to the necessary approvals.

Once established, each corporation would need to work with the relevant local authority, residents, landowners, developers and other public bodies. Individual schemes would continue to require detailed development plans, funding and planning decisions.

The consultation responses will also form part of the evidence base for the next stage. The reported support in each town gives the proposals a local mandate, but implementation will determine whether the promised homes, employment space, transport improvements and public facilities are delivered.

Background to Greater Manchester’s regeneration strategy

Greater Manchester has been using regional regeneration bodies and town-centre investment programmes as part of a longer-term strategy to increase housing, improve transport and attract economic activity outside Manchester city centre.

The Stockport MDC has been used as an example of how a mayor-led development corporation can support town-centre housing and transport projects. The region has also been developing a wider Good Growth programme involving homes, jobs, employment space and infrastructure.

In November 2025, Greater Manchester announced a first wave of Good Growth projects expected to deliver nearly 3,000 homes, more than 22,000 jobs and 2 million square feet of employment space. The programme included schemes connected with Oldham, Ashton, Bolton and Stockport.

The authorities’ wider strategy is based on the idea that regeneration should be coordinated at regional level while remaining connected to local needs. The new MDCs are intended to turn that approach into dedicated delivery organisations for the five named areas.

The proposals also come against a background of concern that some Greater Manchester towns have not benefited equally from the growth seen in Manchester. The plans seek to address that imbalance through new homes, commercial premises, public-space improvements, transport links and facilities.

Prediction: What could the development mean for local audiences?

If the Secretary of State approves the proposals and the MDCs launch in early 2027, residents in Oldham, Bolton, Middleton, Ashton-under-Lyne and Stalybridge are likely to see more detailed regeneration plans emerge over the following years.

The first visible effects may be consultation on individual sites, changes to planning proposals, land assembly and the identification of funding for transport and public-realm improvements. Construction is likely to take longer because major housing and infrastructure projects require design, finance, permissions and procurement.

Local audiences should expect the strongest effects in town centres and around transport corridors. Ashton and Stalybridge may see planning linked more closely to transport improvements, while Oldham, Bolton and Middleton may experience a combination of new homes, commercial development and public-space works.

The plans could create additional employment and improve town-centre activity if the proposed investment is secured. They could also place pressure on existing services, roads and public transport if housing growth moves ahead faster than infrastructure.

The final impact will depend on the terms of the Secretary of State’s approval, the powers given to each MDC, the funding secured and how closely the authorities involve residents and businesses in later decisions. At this stage, the proposals represent an approved route towards regeneration rather than completed development.