The plans have been in the pipeline for years
Plans for an £80m revamp of a Greater Manchester transport hub have been given the green light.
The redevelopment of Bury Interchange is now one step closer with the full plans set to be published by next year. The government has said the £80m project will be ‘fast-tracked’ – although it’s not clear exactly what this means.
The plans to rebuild the transport interchange which serves buses and trams have been in the pipeline for years.
Around £45m of cash given to Greater Manchester by the Conservative government in 2022 has been earmarked for the project with the rest of the money set to be released in the next round of funding which is due in 2027.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that the outline business case has now been approved.
This means initial work can get under way and the full plans can be drawn up before they are published next year.
The news comes as Keir Starmer vows to fix the ‘broken transport system’ that is holding the North of England back.
The Prime Minister will be visiting a factory in the North on Friday (March 28) where he will set out plans to make the Liverpool-Hull corridor an ‘economic superpower’ that rivals the Oxford-Cambridge arc in the South of England.
Speaking ahead of the visit, he said: “The North is home to a wealth of talent and ingenuity. But for too long, it has been held to ransom by a Victorian-era transport system which has stifled its potential.
“I lived in Leeds for years, I get that this has real-world impacts – missed appointments, children late to school, work meetings rescheduled – all leading to insecurity and instability for working people.
“My government won’t stand by and watch. We are rolling up our sleeves, and today’s downpayment for growth is a vote of confidence in the North’s world-beating industries. The film studios in Bradford, life sciences in Liverpool, the fintech industry in Leeds – it is time they had a government on their side to get the North motoring again.
“After years of false promises and under delivery, this government is delivering real change for the North. We are spending double as much on local transport in the North than the South, all done hand-in-hand with our mayors and local leaders.
“Through our Plan for Change, we are upgrading transport in the North, we are correcting years of unfairness that has gone before, and we are better linking our historic towns and cities. That means boosting living standards, putting more money in the pockets of working people, and restoring pride to communities.”
The government says that nearly £1.7bn will be spent on transport across the North this year, most of which was announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the budget last October, with an extra £138m confirmed this week.
Most of this funding – including the cash for Bury Interchange – will be given to mayors like Andy Burnham.