Tameside is at the heart of the Greater Manchester Strategy

Specific commitments to Tameside range from public transport led regeneration to a huge boost in social and affordable housing, alongside redeveloping Ashton Town Hall.

The ambitious ten-year vision for GM aims to ensure that everyone can feel the benefits of continued economic growth.

In Tameside, it includes establishing a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) in Ashton and Stalybridge to create a national template for transport-led regeneration. This is in addition to an overarching commitment to improve public transport connections to key destinations across Greater Manchester.

There is also a pledge to redevelop Ashton Town Hall by 2030 and bring its long heritage back into the heart of the town centre.

Other commitments include making the case for more frequent train services from Ashton and working with partners to make sure that people in Tameside can access public transport that connects its towns.

It also states that Tameside will have 20% more social and affordable housing built for its residents, an extra 600 homes over five years, driving down homelessness and inequality by 2030.

Tameside Council Leader Cllr Eleanor Wills said: “I welcome this ambitious strategy that has Tameside at its front and centre through the Bee Network transport improvements and social housing and public building redevelopments.

“These are specifically chosen and clear pledges for Tameside that will drive economic growth and social progress that our residents will be able to see and feel. We are committed to delivering this regeneration with vigour and I’m excited for what we can achieve through this strategy over the next decade.”

The city region’s blueprint for a greener, fairer future was unveiled by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham with an ambition of ushering in a new era of economic growth.

It aims to create a thriving city region where everyone can live a good life and is the pathway to becoming a second city to rival any other on the planet by 2050, with new underground transport services and a flagship underground station at Manchester Piccadilly.

It includes new bus routes, tramlines and train stations that will unlock land for thousands of new homes, with more social housing being built by 2027 than is lost through Right to Buy.

The strategy also sets out how the technical education system will be transformed, including through delivery of the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate. It will also introduce half price bus travel for 18-21-year-olds from September and a pilot of free 24-hour bus travel for older and disabled people will be rolled out in August.

Mr Burnham said: “Our first decade of devolution has shown how much we can achieve by working together. We’re the UK’s fastest growing economy and stand on the cusp of what I believe could be our best decade since the Victorian era.”

MDCs are statutory bodies designed to speed up development and attract investment within a specific area. They can take on broad powers including land acquisition, planning, and infrastructure functions.

For more information, you can read the full strategy at https://togetherwearegm.co.uk