Manchester at UKREiiF 2025 - Day Three Roundup

As the final day of this year’s UKREiiF comes to a close, we’re reflecting on our last day of panels and discussions before returning to Manchester. With exciting announcements, insightful consultation and meaningful dialogue.

Here’s what the Manchester delegation has been involved with on Day 3 of UKREiiF:

Welcome To NorthFold

Breakfast Launch Event

The morning kicked off with the launch of NorthFold, a bold new collaboration between Wigan and Bolton Councils, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, and Peel Land. Positioned as one of Greater Manchester’s six key growth locations, NorthFold will serve as a new gateway to the city-region, focusing on international sport and leisure, health and food innovation, and creating vibrant, sustainable communities.

Jon Dyson, Director of Place at Wigan Council, set the scene:

“NorthFold stands out as one of Greater Manchester’s six growth locations, it’s about boosting competitiveness, bringing new communities, and delivering a vision grounded in economic productivity and future food technology.”

On what makes NorthFold unique, Dyson added:

“We’re blessed with health and education assets already, but NorthFold takes this to the next level. With Peel Land, we’re developing world-class tourism and leisure destinations that could even bring the Ryder Cup here, putting the region firmly on the global map.”

David Proctor, Director of Place at Bolton Council, emphasised connectivity and diversity:

“The location has so much potential, connected to both Manchester and Liverpool, making this a truly strategic opportunity. Our pipeline reflects the diversity of our vision, from residential to transport to sport. That’s why we’re able to deliver at pace across multiple sectors.”

He highlighted key projects already underway, including:

• Fettlers, a brand new multiuse offering providing a new cinema, bowling alley, bars and restaurants, a Hampton by Hilton hotel, new market hall and food court, as well as more than 400 homes.
• A new Civic Centre building, working with Capital & Centric to bring design-led workspaces to a previously derelict space in Wigan town centre.
• Cottonworks (formerly Ecclesly Mills) which brings 1,000 new homes to the previously brownfield area

Richard Knight, Director at Peel Land, reflected on the significance of the collaboration:

“Too often, places like this are left out of the conversation. NorthFold brings long-standing plans to life, at a scale that’s unprecedented in the North of England.”

On Peel’s vision:

“We’ve already delivered 1,000 homes, and now we’re focusing on projects like Gibfield Park, Hulton Park and Haigh Hall. Our Ryder Cup 2036 bid shows how serious we are, this isn’t just development, it’s transformation.”

He concluded with a look ahead:

“Our next big move is health innovation. With Bolton Council, we’re exploring how to address pressures in the health system through infrastructure and tech-driven regeneration.”

NorthFold is a shining example of how visionary partnerships, sector diversity, and regional ambition are driving the next chapter of Greater Manchester’s growth story.

Housing Associations and Council Collaboration

Later that morning, John Searle, Strategic Director of Place for Salford City Council contributed his experiences to the panel How Housing Associations and Councils Can Work Together To Build The Homes We Need where the group discussed the residential needs of areas across Salford and the wider GM and the plans in place to address this.

A Final Thank You

As we wrap up our time at UKREiiF 2025, a huge thank you goes out to all our delegates, partners and local authorities for joining Invest Manchester over the past few days. From panel discussions to project launches, your insights, ideas and enthusiasm have helped shape a powerful conversation around growth, innovation and inclusion that’s happening across Greater Manchester.

We hope this year’s event has been insightful, created meaningful new connections, and reinforced existing partnerships that will continue to shape our city-region’s future.

We look forward to seeing you all again at UKREiiF 2026.