Trailblazer Devolution Deal Signed by Greater Manchester Leaders

The signing comes after the announcement last week that Greater Manchester leaders had agreed the Deal with Government. At Tuesday’s signing ceremony, Greater Manchester’s Mayor and 10 Leaders publicly signed the Deal, alongside the Minister for Levelling Up, Dehenna Davison MP.

The Deal further embeds the role of local decision-making through additional powers, new financial freedoms and new accountability arrangements.

Significant breakthroughs secured in the new Trailblazer Deal include:

• A simplified education system that will help create pathways into good jobs – a major boost for business and young people
• Improvement to transport services as the funding allows for better integration of the rail network into our transport system
• Thousands of homes built on brownfield land as part of an extra £150m of funding
• New protection for renters from the Greater Manchester Good Landlord Charter
• A single block grant that will allow further and faster in growing the economy, reducing inequalities and providing opportunities for all
• Collaboration on a range of net zero, nature recovery and climate change adaptation measures, with some net zero spending decisions to be made locally

Greater Manchester has already provided millions of pounds of funding to Oldham which has produced major benefits. Some of this funding includes:

• Over £6.5m to develop Brownfield Housing. The Derker housing and Southlink housing developments are being helped by these grants which will improve housing across the borough with a range of affordable options available.

• Over £2m to improve walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure between Oldham West Street and Cheapside bus stations making the town centre more accessible for everyone. The scheme formed part of the Accessible Oldham project and was funded from the Mayor’s Challenge Fund cycling and walking programme.

• £2.6m which will help fund improvements to the town centre, creating and improvement of green spaces and supporting our thriving local arts, cultural and heritage sectors.

• Over £3m that went toward Green projects such as solar power infrastructure, better insulation and air source heat pumps for council buildings including the Spindles, Oldham leisure centre and Oldham Library. £500,000 was also given to fund the Roots of Opportunity programme which helped fund green jobs in the Northern Roots project which is seeking to create the UK's largest urban farm and eco-park on 160 acres of stunning green space in the heart of Oldham.

Welcoming the GM devolution deal, Councillor Amanda Chadderton, Leader of Oldham Council, said:

“Signing this deal shows Greater Manchester working together for our communities.

“Oldham is already benefiting from previous devolution deals as we’ve seen millions put toward improving access to housing by utilising brownfield land, redeveloping our town centre and enabling Green projects as part of our commitment to net zero.

“So we’ve already shown that making decisions locally, in the best interests of local people is the best way forward. This latest deal now means we’ll have even more of a say in how funding is spent. This is a major milestone for Greater Manchester and all of its local authorities - today marks a significant step in taking our future into our own hands.”