‘Possible’ building work could start on Heywood, Middleton and Stockport tram extensions in four years

TfGM has identified the extensions to Heywood, Middleton and Stockport as priorities

Building work on Metrolink extensions to Heywood, Middleton and Stockport could start in the next four years.

That’s according to Andy Burnham, who says getting ‘spades in the ground’ is ‘possible’ – but it depends on final sign-off from the government. While rumoured for years, the extensions to Heywood, Middleton and Stockport have moved forward significantly in recent weeks.

That came after Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) published its draft rapid transit strategy, which identified the extensions as priorities for the city-region. Currently, business cases are being worked on to be submitted to the government for approval, which would establish how the projects would be funded.

However, there is appetite from city-region leaders to get the extensions over the line, following the construction of the new Stockport Interchange, and upcoming ‘Atom Valley’ development, which will bring thousands of new jobs to Heywood and Middleton.
 

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.

When asked if ‘we could see spades in the ground this mayoral term’ which ends in 2028 for the projects, Mr Burnham replied: “It’s possible. I hesitate because it all depends on the business case being strong enough to get through the Treasury.

“The decision is not ours, we have to get them signed off by the government. I think all of that points to a culture change over transport. Transport is the enabler for growth. It brings the growth the government says it wants – without it, you won’t get the growth.

“It’s about not letting these things drag on and making quick decisions. If you have got the clarity about, let’s say, Metrolink coming to Stockport, you can work on the business case with the private sector to say ‘how many homes will you build there’, ‘what will that mean to the economy here’, that builds the business case and gets it through the Treasury process.

“It’s possible, is the answer. But it requires change in the way Whitehall works.”
 

Read more: Bringing trams to Middleton and Heywood "could fix years of chronic underinvestment" says council leaderPublished: 17 July 2024

He was speaking after a meeting of northern mayors and Transport Secretary Lou Haigh, which unveiled the recommendations of the Rail and Urban Transport Review commissioned by Labour while in opposition. Its chief policy ask is to establish a ‘Transport Strategy for England’ which will outline how the country’s public transport system should develop over the next half-a-century.

During the event, Lou Haigh also confirmed other Greater Manchester transport projects on the mayor’s wishlist – including a new railway line to Liverpool, an underground Piccadilly station, and new ground-level platforms at the terminus – would be decided upon by the government in the next few months.

Ethan Davies, Local Democracy Reporter