A concerted focus on the internationally significant investment opportunities in the North West – linked by a new railway – could lead the UK’s economic growth over the next decade, according to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
A ‘Northern Arc’ – the stretch from the Mersey to the Pennines – is already home to two investment zones, 5.4 million people, and creates an annual GVA of £150bn and £23.5bn in exports.
Now, Mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram say that the cumulative impact of a joined-up approach to regional investment, underpinned by delivery of a new railway, could put the North West on a par with successful counterparts like Oxford-Cambridge, and support the UK to grow at a faster pace and greater scale.
The Liverpool-Manchester Railway is the missing piece of the North’s transport infrastructure, they say, with studies showing it would add £7bn GVA to the UK economy, support delivery of around 300,000 new homes over 20 years and help create more than 40,000 high-quality jobs by 2050.
Speaking at an investor roundtable at MIPIM, Mayor of Greater Manchester Burnham and Mayor of Liverpool City Region Rotheram – who both featured on our Northern Leaders list last year, with the former winning ‘Politician of the Year’ – outlined how the ‘Northern Arc’ will make a major contribution to the national growth mission.
“Our city-regions have their own growth stories and opportunities, such as the Old Trafford regeneration project and Atom Valley in Greater Manchester. But our combined pipelines of investment opportunities – the Northern Arc – will create a powerful northern engine to fuel national growth, one greater than the sum of our parts,” said Burnham.
“To achieve its full potential, we need a new Liverpool-Manchester railway – a crucial missing link that must be a priority for the UK’s infrastructure plan.
“The sheer scale of untapped growth potential of the North means that, with the right government support, the size of the prize could match that of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc.
“This is not about competing – we are already creating valuable partnerships with Cambridge – it’s about recognising that this approach to creating superclusters can deliver the same, if not greater economic clout in the North West than anywhere else in the country.”
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Rotheram added: “The Northern Arc represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the North West into a global powerhouse for world-leading businesses.
“In the Liverpool City Region, we’re already primed to lead the way in high-growth industries such as life sciences, advanced manufacturing and low-carbon technologies and with investments like the £550m Health Innovation Liverpool Campus and the expanding Sci-Tech Daresbury, we’re creating opportunities for businesses to thrive and innovation to flourish.
“The Northern Arc is about connecting these hubs with Greater Manchester and beyond. The Liverpool to Manchester railway presents us with a fantastic opportunity to do this.
“With Government backing, this strategic move will unlock new jobs, drive economic growth, and secure the North’s place at the forefront of the UK’s future prosperity.
The city-regions have also started work with independent economists to understand the full scale of potential of such an economic supercluster, with plans to collaborate with local authorities and the private sector in the North West and across the Pennines border.
It will build on the model of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc – now widely regarded as a successful model of attracting investment and innovation.
Greater Manchester has a ten-year plan to turbocharge growth to deliver £1billion of investment every year over the next decade through a single pipeline. The plan is targeted at six Growth Locations, nationally significant sites with the highest potential to boost the regional economy and bring benefits to all 10 boroughs.
It includes the Old Trafford Regeneration Scheme, the biggest sports-led regeneration scheme since the London 2012 Olympics, which could unlock 48,000 new jobs, 17,000 new homes, and add £4.2 billion to the local economy.
Kyndryl, the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, has also recently announced plans to establish a new tech hub in the Liverpool City Region, creating up to 1,000 AI-related jobs.
The Liverpool end of the Liverpool-Manchester Railway features a £2.5bn transformational development opportunity in the regeneration of Central Station right at the heart of the city’s regional commuter network, retail and cultural offers.
The opening of Everton FC’s new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock also opens up residential and regeneration opportunities to the North of the city region.
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