Bolton and Wigan councils join businesses at national real estate investment event to accelerate NorthFold growth
Senior council officers from Bolton and Wigan are on their way to the UK’s biggest annual real estate investment event to showcase the partnership, performance and placemaking successes of the NorthFold growth corridor.
The two councils will be joined by representatives from Peel Land, Deloitte and Invest in Manchester for a panel at UKREiiF in Leeds to build on the more than billion pounds worth of public and private investment that NorthFold has already attracted.
The NorthFold Growth Corridor, which includes the nationally prominent Makerfield parliamentary constituency, runs from the M6 in the west, across to the M61 to the A666 in the east, taking in the towns of Wigan, Bolton, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Hindley, Leigh, Westhoughton and many more places that are pushing for further investment in transport, housing, and commercial spaces.
The corridor has benefited from significant funding already, including from national regeneration programmes, long-term place funding, and heritage and cultural funders, alongside major transport investments from the Department for Transport, National Highways and the Greater Manchester Good Growth Fund.
Combined with significant private sector investments, NorthFold has attracted is in excess of £1 billion already, demonstrating the partnership’s strong performance and high investor confidence in the long-term potential of Bolton, Wigan, and the NorthFold growth corridor as a whole.
NorthFold successes and opportunities include leisure, mixed-use urban regeneration, commercial and logistics, and housing projects:
- An international golf resort at Hulton Park in Bolton and a bid for the 2035 Ryder Cup to boost the region’s visitor economy.
- £30 million+ awarded to restore Haigh Hall in Wigan as a nationally significant arts, culture and heritage destination.
- £135 million Fettlers redevelopment in Wigan.
- £250 million redevelopment of Crompton Place in Bolton.
- More than £500 million of transport investment in the M6, Wigan-Bolton railway line, and a new Wigan-Bolton link road, championed by both departing Makerfield MP Josh Simons and the GMCA under Mayor Andy Burnham.
- Around 10 million sq ft of employment and commercial spaces at Logistics North, Health Innovation Bolton, Hexagon Park and Middlebrook – the UK’s largest integrated retail and leisure park.
- More than 10,000 new homes and over 16,500 jobs in life sciences, food and drink, advanced manufacturing and defence.
The panel at UKREiiF will celebrate the people, businesses and public bodies driving delivery throughout NorthFold and will set out how the programme will accelerate growth and spread opportunity.
Jon Dyson, Director of Place at Bolton Council, said: “At its heart, NorthFold is about creating better places. Places that people are proud to live in, work in and visit. In Bolton we’ve built a strong track record of turning funding into visible change, and NorthFold takes that ambition to the next level by aligning our plans across boundaries to solve problems, speed up delivery, and make sure growth translates into real opportunity.”
David Proctor, Assistant Director for Planning and Regeneration at Wigan Council, said: “What makes NorthFold different is the strength of the partnership and the clarity of the pipeline. Working closely with our partners, we’re aligning planning, infrastructure and investment to de-risk delivery and create a coherent corridor proposition so investors can see the opportunity and communities can see the benefits.”
The performance is clear: places are being shaped, projects are advancing and the partnership is strengthening week by week. What was once a vision is now a deliverable, joined-up programme. Stakeholders and investors are invited to attend the session to learn how NorthFold is translating ambition into investable projects.
Event details
What: NorthFold: Partnership, Performance and Places – a public-private sector stage panel.
When: Tuesday 19th May 2026, 2.15 – 3pm
Where: UKREiiF 2026, Leeds – The Armouries, Public-Private Sector Stage.
Panel speakers
- Jon Dyson – Director of Place, Bolton Council
- Richard Knight – Director of Planning and Strategy, Peel Land
- Audrey Peers – Head of Strategic Partnerships, Invest in Manchester
- David Proctor – Assistant Director for Planning and Regeneration, Wigan Council
- Mel Wilson – Director, Real Estate and Infrastructure, Deloitte
- David Blackadder-Weinstein (Chair) – Head of Strategic Communications, Midlands & North, Turley
