MAYOR Andy Burnham has unveiled the latest plans to deliver a decade of good growth in Greater Manchester, backed by at least £500 million of investment from the National Wealth Fund, as the city region launches a bid to host the biggest ever Ryder Cup in 2035.
The new National Wealth Fund backing comes on top of a £314 million transport funding boost, and £175 million from Government – meaning Greater Manchester’s UK-first Good Growth Fund is set to grow from £1 billion to almost £2 billion.
Greater Manchester is already the UK’s fastest-growing city region – and now we’re pioneering a new model of economic growth which lifts all our people and places and brings good growth to every district.
Andy Haldane, the President of the British Chambers of Commerce, praised the Good Growth Fund as “a fantastically innovative way of solving a really deep-rooted, longstanding problem in the UK, which is that far too little money is flowing outside of the South East.”
The former Chief Economist for the Bank of England said he hopes Greater Manchester’s approach can be replicated across the UK “to make good on the holy grail that is national growth.”
Greater Manchester is using its unique devolved powers and a bold new approach to public investment to unlock major infrastructure sites and an integrated pipeline of projects which will create thousands of new jobs and deliver regeneration on a scale and at a pace not seen before this century. This approach will help us turn the tide on the housing crisis by providing much needed new homes – including socially rented housing. For example, in this second round of funding we’re allocating £26 million for 423 homes across three brownfield sites in Wythenshawe, to kick-start a 2,000‑home masterplan. This includes 233 social rent homes, 109 extra‑care units, and 81 affordable rent homes.
We’ll also delivering the transport links to connect everything up. At the same time, we’ll make sure regeneration brings both social and economic benefits to communities through our new Good Growth Contract. All recipients of Good Growth funding will make social value commitments – from signing up to our Good Employment and Good Landlord charters, to including local businesses in their supply chain and creating new training placements for young people.
A chance to host the biggest ever Ryder Cup in Greater Manchester
Culture and sport have been major drivers of growth in recent years.
Already in 2026 Manchester has hosted the most-viewed BRIT Awards ever – the first time the event was hosted outside of London in its nearly 50-year history. And next week the MOBO Awards will be held in Manchester for the first time, as they mark 30 years of celebrating black music and culture. Now, we’re planning to submit a compelling bid with Peel Retail & Leisure to host the biggest ever Ryder Cup in the city region in 2035.
The Mayor is supporting plans to bring the tournament to a new world-class, purpose-built golf course planned at Hulton Park, Bolton. It would be the first time in more than 30 years that England has hosted the world-renowned tournament. Hosting would deliver a major economic boost – showcasing the North on the world stage, attracting an influx of visitors and driving spending across hospitality, retail and transport. With around 350,000 fans anticipated to attend, it would create a wave of job opportunities and create a lasting legacy for our communities.
To help make it a reality, we’re committing up to £69.8 million to deliver Park Avenue – a significant package of transport improvements that will benefit the area. This will support delivery of the first phase of a new M61-M6 link road, new cycling and walking routes, and new bus routes to the Ryder Cup site. During the tournament, special Bee Network bus services would be tailored to get spectators to and from the site, like during Oasis’ triumphant homecoming gigs last year.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “The success of the BRIT Awards in Manchester shows that we can we attract and deliver international events to a brilliant standard. Culture and sport will be major drivers of our good growth, and that’s why we’re bidding to host the biggest ever Ryder Cup in Bolton in 2035. “We’ve had promising conversations with organisers about bringing the tournament to a bespoke, world-class course at Hulton Park. But it will only be possible with the right infrastructure. We’re doing our bit to make it happen. We’re committing up to £70 million to deliver a transport package to not only help spectators get to the site but deliver major benefits for the people living in the surrounding areas. “As well as the new jobs and tourist spend the Ryder Cup would deliver, there’s also a chance to deliver a lasting legacy. We want to work with Government to align transport investment to the tournament – delivering more frequent and modern trains on the Atherton line, investing in better rail stations and speeding up work to connect the area to the Metrolink network. “We’re serious about making sure every part of Greater Manchester benefits from our approach to good growth.
By almost doubling our Good Growth Fund, thanks to a landmark partnership with the National Wealth Fund and new investment from Government, we can invest in bringing even more homes, jobs and opportunities to our communities.”
FedEx Cup champion, eight-time European Tour winner and current world number three-ranked golfer, Tommy Fleetwood – part of the Europe team that won the Ryder Cup in 2025 – has now backed the ambition to bring one of the world’s most popular contests to the North West.