Economic Development Strategy
Rochdale Borough is a place with an economy growing faster than
the North West average and undergoing major economic regeneration.
The Borough is situated on the edge of the Pennines, with
beautiful countryside surrounding the town centres, and within
just 30 minutes drive of Manchester City Centre.
The Rochdale Borough Economic Development
Strategy (REDS) sets out the ambition and priorities
for transforming the local economy in line with local,
sub-regional and national economic development strategies.
The strategy has four key aims:
- Increasing productivity
- Railsing skills levels and reducing worklessness
- Improving infrastructure and attracting investment
- Improving quality of life and the attractiveness of the
Borough
The Rochdale Borough Economic Partnership is
repsonsible for commissioning and delivering this strategy and has
set up three Economic Partnership sub-groups:
- Infrastructure & investment group
- Skills and work advisory
- Supporting enterprise
Strategic context
The government has recognised a massive imbalance in economic
performance between the North and the rest of the UK. The
Northern Way strategy was launched to increase Gross Value
Added (GVA) per head to the UK national average within 25 years.
The strategy emphasises the role of Manchester and Leeds city
regions in leading the economic growth of the North, and the need
to access work across city regions. Rochdale Borough's location
directly bewteen these two city regions along the M62 axis offers
us a huge opportunity.
Regional context: North West
The North West Regional Economic Strategy sets
out the region's priorites for meeting the Northern Way objectives
and to closing the output gap with the England average. The
Rochdale Borough Economic Strategy is closely aligned to those
objectives but reflective of the Borough's own particular
circumstances.
Sub-regional: Manchester City Region
The Manchester City Region Development
Programme (MCRDP) sets out the Manchester City Region's
response to the Regional Economic Strategy and the Northern Way. It
identifies how Manchester City is the powerhouse of the North, and
how it plans to increase productivity at a faster rate than the
England average. Some of the key drivers identified in this
strategy include:
- Raising skills
- Fostering entrepreneurisalism
- Tackling worklessness
- Creating the conditions for sustainable growth
Greater Manchester's contribution to the Manchester City Region
Development Programme and the Regional Economic Strategy is set out
in the Greater Manchester Economic Development
Plan.
For more information on the Rochdale Borough Economic
Development Strategy, or to request a hard copy of this report,
please contact the Economic Affairs Team using the contact details
at the top right hand corner of the page.