Strength through union

The third biggest town in England, Manchester, in the north west of the country, covers an area of more  than 115 sq. km. It is at the heart of Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county with 2.5 million inhabitants including the towns of Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Trafford, Tameside and Wigan. Member of the English Core City Group, its dynamism sets a vigorous example. In 2007, a report published by Manchester Partnership singles it out as being the agglomeration with the fastest growth in Britain.
The ten towns joined forces after the abolition of the metropolitan county councils in 1986. The union gave birth to AGMA, the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, responsible for coordinating policy at metropolitan level whose declared aim is to give the metropolitan area greater exposure on the national and international stage. AGMA has established strategic commissions to favour economic development, competitiveness and to attract investors and new talents. Last November, one of these, known as the Commission for the New Economy  launch-ed  a special employment fund, the Future Jobs Fund that hopes to find work for long-term unemployed between the ages of 18 and 24 and offer almost 8,000 posts in the region over the next 2 years. “This is a unique program,” said Mike Emmerich, Director of the Commission for the New Economy. “The 10 towns worked together to guarantee its success.” At the beginning of January, more than 700 full and part-time posts had already been created. Four other commissions have been created since August 2009: environment, health, competitiveness, housing and civil defence. A sixth, for transport, is planned.
Attracting investors
Another of Greater Manchester’s strong points is its diversified economy.  The region, hard hit by the decline of the textile industry has adapted. High-tech industries, finance and services are sectors employing a large part of the population and attract investors.
Companies are responding to the needs of local, regional and international markets. MIDAS (Manchester Investment Development Agency Service) works to guarantee a large number of new investments and jobs in the agglomeration. It offers services and grants to foreign companies wishing to move there. One strategy attracting investors is the fact that more than 2,000 foreign capital companies including AIG and Google are present in Manchester.
The third most visited region in the United Kingdom, it is also working on its image. The Marketing Manchester agency concerns itself with promoting all the advantages of the area. It ensures it is present at trade fairs such as the international property fair, MIPIM, which takes place annually in Cannes, and launches promotion campaigns. Marketing Manchester also plays on the city’s football fame: Manchester United has proved an excellent business card and the city is a candidate for the 2018 and 2022 World Football cups.
A green metropolitan area
Today, the Manchester region is one of the most enterprising in England. A recent poll by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce shows that the agglomeration’s companies are very confident and an increasing number of them are showing an interest in ecology. The City of Manchester has set the example. Since 2006, it is following the Manchester Green City program and hopes to become the greenest town in England. Various urban renewal projects have allowed  the development of new forms of economy, improvements in the daily life of the  city’s inhabitants and an increase in its attractiveness to investors.
Today, Manchester can pride itself  on possessing the highest tower of solar panels in Europe and law courts built  according to the rules of eco-construction. The cradle of the industrial revolution  has had a face-lift.