Manchester co-operative plan receives Mayoral seal of approval

The report sets out how Greater Manchester Combined Authority can take a lead in supporting the development of the co‑operative sector. It includes recommendations around advice and support for existing, new start and converting co‑ops, as well as for encouraging co‑operation at a community level, and in specific areas such as housing, transport and digital sectors.

A key recommendation is that Greater Manchester is designated as a Co‑operative Zone with a dedicated resource to offer business advice and support for both existing co-operatives and those who wish to start or convert to a co‑operative approach. Other recommendations include:

• Pioneer community-led economic development in Greater Manchester
• Support the creation of a Greater Manchester service co‑op for freelancers and micro‑enterprises
• Set up a Greater Manchester Community Housing Hub to address a gap in the housing market and enable the establishment of co‑operative and community-led housing projects
• Pilot partnerships with community‑led 'total transport' solutions

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham said: “The building blocks of co‑operation in Greater Manchester are already strong and more than 160,000 people in the city-region are already members of a co-operative, with co-operatives contributing £73 million to the city‑region’s economy.”

The report was compiled by the Manchester Co‑operative Commission, which represents the region’s leading co-ops, local authorities and co-op development organisations including Co‑operatives UK.

Our Policy Officer James Wright sat on the commission: “An important part of our role on the commission was ensuring that the views and experiences of our hundreds of co‑operative member businesses were included. We gathered information from them on the challenges and opportunities facing co-ops today.  We are now eager to help the Greater Manchester Combined Authority turn the recommendations into action.”

Greater Manchester is the home of the global co-operative movement, which this year marks 175 years since the Rochdale Pioneers founded the first commercially successfully co‑operative, and now is the time to take action.

Read the report here.