Northern Gateway - Heywood/Pilsworth

JPA1.1 Northern Gateway (Heywood/Pilsworth) is one of the largest strategic employment allocations in the country, straddling the districts of Bury and Rochdale and positioned at a strategically important intersection around the M60, M62 and M66 motorways. It represents a highly accessible opportunity for growth in Greater Manchester with wider benefits on a regional and national level.

Northern Gateway is an opportunity to deliver unprecedented investment, jobs, homes and community benefits. It will enable the delivery of a large, nationally significant employment opportunity to attract high quality businesses and investment on the M62 corridor coupled with a significant number of new homes and supporting services and facilities.

Draft Northern Gateway Development Framework

Working collaboratively with landowners and stakeholders, Bury and Rochdale Councils have been working on a draft Northern Gateway Development Framework (NGDF).

The objective of this document is to provide more detailed information on how the site is likely to be developed through a high-level masterplan, that will identify broad development parcels and areas of the site that will be protected. The NGDF will also set out how new employment floorspace, housing and supporting infrastructure will be provided in a coordinated and phased approach.

Ultimately the NGDF will be adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) and will be a material planning consideration when determining planning applications on the site.

Following Cabinet approval, we sought your views on the draft NGDF over an eight-week period running from 15 November until 10 January 2025.

How can I view the draft?

The easiest way to view the draft is via the consultation portal:

Draft Infrastructure Phasing and Delivery Strategy

This version of the IPDS is published to accompany the Consultation stage draft of the NGDF SPD. Whilst the IPDS does not form part of the formal consultation, the IPDS will be used as a basis for ongoing engagement with stakeholders. This draft strategy seeks to provide an agreed structure, identify currently known infrastructure requirements, identify important stakeholders that will support delivery and establish principles by which the Councils and stakeholders will be expected to operate in a coordinated manner to achieve the vision and objectives of the site.

Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening

The Council has undertaken an initial screening of the draft SPD to determine whether there is a need for a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in accordance with Regulation 9 (3) of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 and European Directive 2001/42/C. Similarly, the Council has undertaken an initial screening of the SPD to determine whether there is a need for a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) in accordance with Regulation 63 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (as amended) and European Directive 92/43/EEC (the Habitats Directive).

Consultation Statement

Regulation 12(a) of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 requires the Council to produce a consultation statement before adoption of the SPD and Regulation 12(b) requires the Council to publish the documents (including a ‘consultation statement’) for a minimum 4-week consultation.