Plans for huge new science and manufacturing hub in Atom Valley revealed

Plans for an advanced sustainable materials and manufacturing hub at Kingsway Business Park have been submitted.

Kingsway Business Park is part of Atom Valley, which is one of six growth locations in Greater Manchester and includes significant parts of Bury, Oldham and Rochdale. It is an area of 17 million sq. ft. flexible employment space with the potential to offer 20,000 new highly skilled roles within the technology and manufacturing sectors.

The new Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Centre (SMMC) proposal would have 2,724m² net floor area, be located at the Metrolink tram stop at Kingsway and will include laboratory space, workshops, metrology space, design and analysis studios.

A lecture theatre, meeting rooms, flexible workspace for start-ups, office space for manufacturers and a café are also included in the plans. According to joint-applicants Wilson Bowden Developments, Rochdale Development Agency, Rochdale Borough Council, and Homes England – this project will be an inherent part of the development and commercialisation of smart intelligent machinery and advanced sustainable materials and Made Smarter technologies.

Atom Valley Innovation group chair, Professor Richard Jones of University of Manchester, said: “The submission of planning for SMMC is an important milestone in the work of Greater Manchester to take an innovation-driven approach to transforming the city region. It will form a key part of Atom Valley and wider plans including ID Manchester, connecting companies with world class capabilities from the University of Manchester and others.”
 

Atom Valley
Atom Valley is a Mayoral Development Zone (MDZ) across Rochdale, Bury and Oldham. The zone is focused on three sites - the Northern Gateway (which straddles Bury and Rochdale near the M66 and M62), Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale, and Stakehill in Rochdale and Oldham. The sites have the potential to accommodate 1.6m sq m of new employment space, create around 20,000 jobs and deliver 7,000 new homes.

A new MDZ board has been set up to coordinate the project, chaired by leading economist Paul Ormerod, who was born and brought up in Rochdale and is also chair of Rochdale Development Agency, with representatives from local and national authorities, central government, and the private sector.

The ambition is to create a hub for innovation in advanced materials, manufacturing, and green technologies, with world-leading facilities and opportunities for local residents to access good jobs, training, and skills.

In addition to supporting Innovation Accelerator funded programmes like the Centre of Expertise in Advanced Materials and Sustainability (CEAMS), the SMMC will host a range of programmes that will support the Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s ambitions to build a world class cluster of advanced materials and manufacturing in Atom Valley, developers claim.

Central to the creation of the SMMC has been GAMMA; Greater Manchester’s Graphene, Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Alliance. GAMMA is an alliance of manufacturers, universities and public bodies.

The aim is to create an advanced manufacturing supercluster in the North of England, focused on advanced materials and industrial digital technologies to support advanced manufacturing in its transition to net zero. It is hoped to drive a more productive, sustainable, highly skilled, and innovative industry.

Newly appointed SMMC CEO, Justin Kelly said: “It is an incredible opportunity to be the founding CEO of SMMC for so many reasons. The location in Atom Valley will allow the centre to make such a positive impact on the economy of North Manchester and for its population through the sheer breadth of opportunity available.

“This centre will be at the forefront of technology, it will be transformational and it will be sustainable. I’m excited about that”.

It is hoped that the new centre will be completed by the summer of 2026. However, full planning permission will need to be sought before construction can begin.

Councillor Neil Emmott, leader of Rochdale Council said: “Atom Valley, located across the boroughs of Rochdale, Oldham and Bury, offers a once in a lifetime opportunity for truly transformational economic growth. We can offer the people living here better life chances, our young people better life chances and our businesses a great community in which to trade and work on a global basis.

“I am thrilled that the SMMC is making such great progress and look forward to seeing this visible example of our commitment to realise the vision for Atom Valley become a reality.”

George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter