Greater Manchester has unveiled a £10.5m Screen Production Fund to back film and TV projects across the region, as part of a major expansion of its flagship Good Growth Fund alongside a high-profile bid to host the 2035 Ryder Cup.
Mayor Andy Burnham set out the latest phase of the city region’s “good growth” strategy, combining major investment in infrastructure, housing and industry with a push to bring one of the world’s biggest sporting events to the North West.
The Ryder Cup bid, centred on a proposed new course at Hulton Park in Bolton, is being backed by up to £70m of transport investment to improve connectivity and support the event, which could attract around 350,000 visitors and deliver a significant economic boost.
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Burnham said: “The success of the BRIT Awards in Manchester shows that we can we attract and deliver international events to a brilliant standard. Culture and sport will be major drivers of our good growth, and that’s why we’re bidding to host the biggest ever Ryder Cup in Bolton in 2035.”
Alongside the bid, Greater Manchester confirmed that its Good Growth Fund is set to grow from £1bn to almost £2bn, following at least £500m of backing from the National Wealth Fund and £175m from Government, as well as additional transport funding.
Within that wider package, the new Screen Production Fund is a key intervention for the region’s creative economy.
Set to launch this spring with £10.5m, it will support film and TV productions across Greater Manchester, with a focus on projects that spend locally, use regional crew and facilities, and create training and skills opportunities.
The fund is designed to accelerate delivery of Greater Manchester’s Creative Industries Sector Development Plan, which aims to make the city region the strongest screen industry cluster outside London by 2028.
The announcement comes as Prolific North has been highlighting mounting pressure across the region’s screen sector, with freelancers and independent production companies warning the industry is struggling to sustain careers.
As part of a recent focus week, freelancers described a sector some say is “on its knees”, with low pay, fewer commissions and increasing competition pushing talent to consider leaving altogether.
Manchester-based producer Nadia Jaynes warned that without long-term regional investment, the North risks becoming a “training ground” for London rather than a sustainable base for careers.
“If we want to retain talent in the North, we have to reinvest, upskill and have a long-term plan for where that talent goes,” she said.
Others pointed to structural changes in commissioning, declining TV revenues and an oversupply of new entrants as further pressure points, while some freelancers questioned whether the current freelance model remains viable without greater support and stability.
The new fund’s focus on local spend, skills and traineeships directly targets some of those challenges, particularly around retention of talent and strengthening the regional production ecosystem.
The announcement also follows a £25m Creative Industries Growth funding award from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), described as a “clear vote of confidence” in Greater Manchester’s long-term vision for the creative sector.
The screen fund forms part of a wider £420m investment wave announced in the latest round of Good Growth allocations.
This includes £314m for transport projects and £85m for housing, with funding supporting hundreds of new homes across sites in Prestwich, Wythenshawe and Stretford, alongside major infrastructure schemes including new link roads and a Metrolink stop in north Manchester.
In Oldham, a £70m SportsTown development backed by a new Mayoral Development Corporation aims to create state-of-the-art sporting, health and community facilities, while generating new jobs and attracting further investment.
The strategy also continues to build out Greater Manchester’s “frontier” sectors, including the development of a major low-carbon cluster in Trafford, now branded as Energy Campus, bringing together hydrogen, battery storage and liquid air energy projects.
Burnham added: “We’re serious about making sure every part of Greater Manchester benefits from our approach to good growth. By almost doubling our Good Growth Fund, thanks to a landmark partnership with the National Wealth Fund and new investment from Government, we can invest in bringing even more homes, jobs and opportunities to our communities.”
The approach has drawn backing from national business leaders.
Andy Haldane, President of the British Chambers of Commerce, described the fund as “a fantastically innovative way of solving a really deep-rooted longstanding problem in the UK,” adding that he hopes it can be replicated nationwide “to make good on the holy grail that is national growth.”
Originally launched last year, the Good Growth Fund is designed to unlock private investment, accelerate regeneration and deliver long-term economic growth across the city region.
