Help us to shape the future of Greater Manchester

For views on the creation of a Bolton Town Centre MDC, the boundary of the MDC and if residents believed the proposal would help to support development, growth, and improvements in Bolton Town Centre.

A total of 132 responses were received through the online survey. Overall, 83.33% of respondents agree that there could be a role for a Mayoral Development Corporation in Bolton Town Centre, with 78.79% agreeing that the creation of the MDC would support development, growth and improvements. Although supportive of the MDC proposal respondents did note a number of concerns which included the potential cost of the MDC, accountability and transparency, duplication of functions with the Local authority and that community voices including businesses will not be reflected in decision making.

We have made a note of all responses, incorporating your feedback into the development of the proposal for the Bolton Town Centre MDC which will include looking at how we can address the concerns of respondents.

In summer 2025, we ran a quick survey for residents of Greater Manchester about your waste behaviours. We wanted to find out what you know about waste, why you recycle and what makes it difficult. This information will help us improve our communications.

We asked 10 questions that explored your relationship with the stuff you throw away, your bins at home, as well as wider waste services such as recycling centres. There were also questions about your understanding of the waste hierarchy, which demonstrates that reuse and repair are even better for the environment than simply recycling at home.

In the end, we received almost 9,000 responses from across Greater Manchester. This has provided us with so much rich data that will help shape the future of waste across our city-region.

It’s clear lots of people in Greater Manchester care about recycling.

Your answers showed us why you recycle with environmental benefits being the most common motivator. Over half of you stated that recycling at home had positive impacts for your local community.

In terms of barriers, around 30% of respondents said they don’t always know what goes in each bin. A follow-up question showed items such as batteries, crisp packets and ripped clothing were the items most residents get wrong.

Because we received so many responses, analysing the data has taken a bit longer than expected.

As part of the survey, we asked some demographic questions, this has given us lots of information about who is more comfortable recycling and who might need a bit more support. We’ve been able to target some of our communications at residents who live in flats and people between the ages of 18-24.

There was a lot of appetite to recycle more items at home. This isn’t always possible, but we’ve increased our communications about recycling at locations out of home such as takeback schemes in shops.

Want to know more about recycling? Follow us at @Recycle4gm and check out https://recycleforgreatermanchester.com/

For views on the creation of an Old Trafford MDC, the boundary of the MDC, whether the Old Trafford Regeneration Mayoral Development Corporation is a suitable name and if residents believed the proposal would help to support development, growth, and improvements in the Old Trafford Regeneration Area.

A total of 36 responses were received through the online survey. Overall, 77.78% of respondents agree that there could be a role for a Mayoral Development Corporation in the Old Trafford Regeneration Area, with 77.77% agreeing that the creation of the MDC would support development, growth, and improvements. Although supportive of the MDC proposal respondents did note a number of concerns, which included, the potential cost of the MDC, the possibility of compulsory purchases, the impact the development could have on transport and social and the proposed boundary.

We have made a note of all responses, incorporating your feedback into the development of the proposal for the Old Trafford Regeneration Mayoral Development, which will include looking at how we can address the concerns of respondents.

For views on the creation of a Stockport Town Centre East MDC, the expansion of the MDCs boundary, whether the Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation is a suitable name and if residents agreed that the MDC should continue to not have any planning or rate relief powers.

A total of 32 responses were received through the online survey. Overall, 78.13% of respondents agree with the expansion of the Mayoral Development to cover the whole of Stockport Town Centre in order to drive forward long-term regeneration. 68.76% people agree with the boundary extension proposed. 53.12% of people agreed with the name ‘Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation’,10 people (31.25%) expressed that they neither agreed nor disagreed to the proposed name. Lastly 71.87% of respondents agreed that planning & rate relief powers should remain with Stockport Council. Although supportive of the MDC proposal respondents did note a number of concerns, which included, the effects on public service provision and making sure that those living in Stockport are involved in future decisions, as well as providing several suggestions for how to expand and develop the proposals.

We have made a note of all responses, incorporating your feedback into the development of the proposal for the Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation, looking at how we can address the concerns of respondents. An example of this is the creation of an alternative name for the MDC of ‘Stockport Town Centre Mayoral Development Corporation’ which will be considered by the GM Mayor. Stockport Council have revised the Strategic Regeneration Framework, to emphasise the early consideration of vehicle movements in design, support a broader range of housing options & to reinforce the importance of green space for health, wellbeing.

We asked for feedback on the draft Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) aims and targets, priorities for habitats and species, how the strategy would be delivered and the draft Nature Network map. 

Between November 2024 and January 2025, over 800 residents, community groups, charities, businesses, farmers and landowners across the city-region engaged with the preparation of this strategy.  

Through surveys, workshops, events and webinars, we have heard what people think about the state of our natural environment. For example:  

• Although most Greater Manchester residents (69%) are proud of their local area, 55% of survey respondents think that the natural environment where they live is getting worse. 

• Almost half of survey respondents said they currently think the state of nature in Greater Manchester is poor (41%) and a further third thought it was in moderate condition (37%)   

• Residents stated that they are put off spending time in nature due to a lack of accessible quality green space (14%), a lack of biodiversity (16%), increasing need for land for housing and employment (16%) and green spaces in poor condition (18%). 

These responses show a strong concern about the state of Greater Manchester’s natural environment and its decline. Overall, there was broad support the direction of the draft strategy. There was an ask for clearer, more accessible information, stronger links to delivery and accountability, and reassurances about how the LNRS relates to planning and development. 

The interest and involvement generated through the public consultation on the draft of the first LNRS has been greatly welcomed. The responses received have provided valuable insights, information, and suggestions. The amendments and alterations that have been made to the Local Nature Recovery Strategy have led to a stronger, more inclusive and improved strategy. We can now move towards the next stage of delivery of the actions to support nature recovery and ensure that plays a valuable and important part in responding to the biodiversity emergency. 

You can find more about our response to the consultation in the Public Consultation Report and the published LNRS on our website: Our plan for nature recovery - Greater Manchester Combined Authority