Over the past 10 years Manchester City Council has had big ambitions for our city.
From tackling inequalities in our society, and creating a vibrant city that people want to live and work in, to growing our reputation on the global stage as a leading city.
In the decade since the original Our Manchester plan was brought to life Manchester has been a city on the rise. More than 100,000 new people call the city home, more than 100,000 new jobs have been created, and Manchester is now one of the most important engines of growth in the UK and Europe.
More children did better in school and our residents became more qualified: nearly three quarters of our residents now have a college-level qualification, and far fewer have no qualification at all.
Through that decade, huge strides have been made to improve the lives of ordinary people, working in collaboration with a range of partners, from education and health, to business, emergency services and community and faith groups we began to shift the dial on hard long-term challenges.
Just a fraction of the things we have achieved together include:
- More schools, colleges and early years groups judged better than ever
- More pounds in workers’ pockets in our Real Living Wage City
- Investment to make people proud and safer on their streets in neighbourhoods like Ancoats, Beswick, Collyhurst, Miles Platting, New Islington and Wythenshawe
- We are now building more affordable homes than at any point in the last decade
- Skills and better education for people to get on and do well in our City of Lifelong Learning and Child Friendly City
- The opening of Aviva Studios and Co-op Live (the largest indoor venue in the UK) and global cultural events such as the Chanel Métiers D’Art show, all of which showcase the fantastic place Manchester is for our partners to promote and develop art, sport and culture
But, there is more work to be done. 10 years is no time at all when it comes to addressing the long-term issues which still hold people back and prevent everyone from sharing in the prosperity that Manchester has to offer.
This is why today, we are launching the next 10-year plan for Our Manchester, bigger and bolder than before, presenting the ambitious vision for 2025-2035.
During this coming decade the Council will lead the charge for Manchester to become an even better city, to continue to address issues such as inequality, fostering growth that benefits everyone, tackling the housing crisis so that everyone in Manchester can enjoy affordable, low-carbon housing, continuing to push towards becoming a zero-carbon city by 2038, and creating green and clean neighbourhoods that everyone can enjoy.
A list of 12 priorities have been set that will guide the Council’s policies over the next 10 years. Broadly they fit into three categories on what we can do to improve the lives of the people who live here, the neighbourhoods in which we live, and the ambitions we have for our city.
Priorities 1 to 5. Our People will be:
- Happy, healthy and active from childhood
- Well educated, learning new skills throughout life to get the best jobs
- Proud of our diversity, feeling valued and included
- Participants influencing decisions
- Safe – in person and online
Priories 6 and 7 are for all Our Neighbourhoods to have:
- Enough good quality, genuinely affordable homes
- Attractive, well-kept areas with good facilities, public services and green spaces
Priorities 8 to 12 are for Our City to have:
- A growing economy with jobs and fair opportunities for all
- Ways to adapt to climate change and cut our carbon emissions
- World-renowned things for everyone to see and do, showcasing our passion for sport and culture
- Reliable transport that’s quick, cheap, safe and clean
- Technology to achieve our aims, safely and ethically
Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council said: “Over the last 10 years we have seen tremendous things happen in Manchester, things which have well and truly put us on the global stage as a city and put us in an incredibly strong position to keep growing over the coming decade.
“We are incredibly confident that the next 10 years will be our best yet.
“Building on strong foundations we want Manchester to the best place in the country to grow up, live well and live happy, successful lives. We will tackle inequality and health inequity, deliver our ambitious housing plan to build tens of thousands of homes, create over 100,000 new jobs, invest and improve our neighbourhoods, invest in better transport and digital connections and build a more sustainable city.
“Manchester has seen significant change over the last decade, and today we are setting out our deliberately ambitious strategy for our collective future, and an action plan to power us through the next 10 years. It is a plan that will improve our city as well as the everyday lives of our residents. Getting to this stage has been a long process, and we have heard to more than 10,000 Mancunian voices about their hopes and dreams for our city.
“Together we will create a city that is a joy to live and work in and where Mancunians, both home-grown and adopted, that is demonstrably better in 2035 and everyone feels proud of.”
