The Health Innovation Bolton scheme is part of the ambitious NorthFold growth corridor, a £1 billion project for economic and community development between Bolton and Wigan.
The Health Innovation scheme is expected to deliver more than 2,000 new homes with 200,000 square metres of employment, research and development, and health floorspace.
Bolton Council leader Cllr Akhtar Zaman said: “Meaningful regeneration goes beyond bricks and mortar to create new opportunities and lasting improvements in people’s lives.
“Health Innovation Bolton is the perfect example of this by bringing new jobs and much-needed homes to our borough, while also addressing the fundamentally unfair health inequalities that impact our communities.
The scheme includes thousands of new homes (Image: Influential)
“The scale and ambition of HIB are an ideal fit for Bolton’s ongoing regeneration and make it a key project in the transformational NorthFold growth location.”
The agreement has been signed by Bolton Council with various partners.
They include NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford Estates, Peel Land, the University of Greater Manchester, Bolton College, and facilities management business iFM.
Together they expect a total of 4,500 on-site jobs to be created once the site is operational, of which 2,300 are expected to go to Bolton residents.
The partners say this is the only location capable of delivering this given no other site in Greater Manchester has the same combination of a hospital, medical school, and university nearby.
Peel Land managing director Stephen Wild said: “HIB is exactly the kind of transformational investment needed to address long-standing health inequalities and build on the world-class health and life science ecosystem across Greater Manchester and the wider North West.
“Healthcare in isolation has never been the whole answer, its housing, jobs, green space and connections that are so needed to drive alignment of health and social care needs with the environment.
“This is exactly why HIB brings a hospital, university campus, new homes, jobs and local business together to form a new neighbourhood.
“Signing this Partnership Agreement marks a significant step for a scheme that will put health at the heart of a new neighbourhood in Bolton.
“We’re extremely proud to be working alongside partners who share our ambition to create something special and unique here.
“Together, we’re creating a blueprint for health-led regeneration that will benefit Bolton and Greater Manchester for generations.”
The partners behind the scheme say it is centred around healthcare, sustainable place and wellbeing, and is designed to promote healthy, positive outcomes.
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust chief executive officer Professor Fiona Noden said: “Health Innovation Bolton is a unique opportunity to improve the health and wellbeing of future generations, not only here in Bolton, but across Greater Manchester.
“By bringing together healthcare, education, research and industry, we can help tackle health inequalities, create opportunities for local people and support innovation that benefits our communities.
“We’re proud to be part of this ambitious partnership and look forward to it progressing to support the people of Bolton and beyond.”
The current partnership agreement updates a previous one that had been signed in 2021 and aims to reflect progress that has been made.
Bolton Council and Peel Land are now aiming to establish a joint development vehicle to progress the scheme further.
University of Greater Manchester acting vice-chancellor Dr Greg Walker said: “This is a great opportunity to make a positive impact in the community and to align with key stakeholders for an important project which will benefit the whole of Bolton.
“The university, as an anchor institution and in particular with its medical school which has the potential to address the health inequalities and improve the health of future generations, is proud to be part of this development.”
There will be further targeted conversations with current and potential partners while a public consultation on the scheme is expected to take place in 2027.