NORTHERN Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry today visited Bury College and hailed its proposed new £6.74million science and engineering centre as an example of what the government hoped to achieve for the region.

He said it would enable the town's young people to play full part in the revival of Greater Manchester.

Mr Berry said the new health innovation STEM (Science, Maths, Engineering and Technology) centre would allow students to play a full part in the NHS in Greater Manchester.

It will be built on the site of the former Peel health centre, at the corner of Market Street and Angouleme Way with £2.25m of government growth deal money topping up cash from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

The minister was welcomed to the college by principal Charlie Deane.

Mr Berry said: "I'm here in today to look at the site where a new STEM - science, technology, engineering and maths - college is going to be built right in the heart of Bury and with Bury College.

"It's a hugely exciting £6m project, of which £2.25m has been provided by the government through growth funding but actually beyond that we're here to talk about and celebrate the significant growth and success we've seen in Bury college over the last ten years.

"I think it's an extraordinary story of ambition by the college and its leaders but also a partnership between the college and government investing in the future of young people across this region.

"This is a really good example of the Northern Powerhouse investment we're seeing from the government.

"There's a new gaffer in Downing Street and the Prime Minister is absolutely focussed on delivering for people who live across the North of England. We're acutely aware that many voters in Bolton and Bury voted Conservative for the first time in a generation in some cases and lent us their support and we now are working with all of our new colleagues across every part of the North of England to make sure that we deliver those better jobs, those more highly-paid secure jobs for people in the North."

Mr Berry said his ambition was to bring full devolution of powers, cash and investment centralised in London after the Second World War back to the north.

He said: "The best ideas for the north don't come from the south."

Asked if he would be prepared to resign if Mr Johnson failed to deliver on the Northern Powerhouse, Mr Berry said: "It's a really good question but I don't start from the premise that we won't deliver because I look at his delivery as Mayor of London and I'm absolutely certain that all of the things we have set out we will deliver.

"I do think you can see already his personal commitment. His first commitment, here in Greater Manchester three weeks after he became Prime Minister was to Northern Powerhouse Rail between Leeds and Manchester and that is a multi-billion pound commitment

"I think as Prime Minister we're going to see much more of that."