Decision Maker: Cabinet

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Date of Decision: April 17, 2025

Purpose: Middleton Town Centre Mayoral Development Corporation

Content:   The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Economy and Place, which sought agreement to create a Middleton Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) to drive forward the regeneration of Middleton, with a focus on accelerating housing and commercial growth around existing and planned transport infrastructure, and to respond to emerging funding opportunities.   The Head of Strategic Growth was in attendance to present the information and to address the questions and the comments of the Cabinet Members.   The Officer informed that Middleton was positioned in one of Greater Manchester’s designated Growth Locations and could truly benefit from planned strategic growth in the region, including Atom Valley and the Northern Gateway strategic employment site. Realising Middleton’s potential and capitalising on the opportunities associated with Atom Valley would require a coordinated effort to bring together public sector partners, landowners, and private sector developers in a dedicated delivery vehicle.   Resolved: 1.    That the creation of a Middleton Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) with its associated name and boundary (Appendix 2 of the report) be approved in principle; 2.    That a public consultation on the creation of the Middleton MDC be approved; 3.    That it be noted that a report would be presented to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in May 2025 recommending: that the decisions made by this council be noted, and approval in principle be given to the establishment of a Mayoral Development Corporation for Middleton; 4.    That it be noted that a further report would be brought to Cabinet following consultation with Middleton Township and the conclusion of the public consultation, from which responses would be analysed, with further recommendations in respect of the proposed Middleton MDC; 5.    That the funding required from the Council and detailed in paragraph 6 of the report be approved and be funded from the existing Community Regeneration Partnerships £0.6m capital grant funding to be allocated to Middleton Heritage and Town Centre in 2025/26.   Reason for decision: The Middleton Town Centre Masterplan had been adopted in 2022 and set out a vision for the evolution of Middleton town centre towards an attractive, accessible and liveable destination, celebrating its rich heritage, community, culture and natural assets, reflecting the council’s aspirations for the area. Whilst the Masterplan sought to guide future development in the Town Centre, in line with the vision, looking forward to delivery, Middleton suffered from the development constraints, market failure and viability issues that were typical of brownfield sites, particularly those around the town centre. Fragmentation of land ownership across the area, combined with the comparatively small scale of council and other public estate land holdings, acted as a constraint on what the market could deliver and on the council’s ability to intervene to unlock development. Given the above, the most common forms of delivery vehicle to achieve the aspirations and vision set out in the Masterplan, including direct Council development and various forms of joint venture with developers, would be unlikely to overcome the constraints in order to bring forward development. The Mayoral Development Corporation model had the ability to bring together a combination of relevant development and land assembly statutory powers with a unique profile to galvanise market interest and support engagement with the private sector to deliver the council’s ambition for the town. Approval to create the Middleton MDC with its associated boundary would enable the statutory public consultation to proceed and thus commence the statutory process for creation and implementation. The creation of an MDC would be developed in parallel with consultation on more detailed proposals for a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) to provide a framework to guide the regeneration of parts of Middleton Town Centre. The consultation processes for the proposed Middleton MDC and the Supplementary Planning Document would be aligned if practicable, recognising that the SPD would provide confidence and certainty to investors in respect of how the vision for Middleton would be achieved.   Alternatives considered and rejected: That the MDC was not endorsed as the preferred delivery vehicle for the regeneration of Middleton. The benefits associated with the creation of an MDC as noted in this report would not be realised and the potential benefits of using such a regeneration vehicle as well as the funding opportunities associated with it would be forfeited.