North Wales has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to capitalise on the Northern Powerhouse

North Wales has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to capitalise on the Northern Powerhouse and drive fresh wave of investment and opportunity across the region, the Secretary of State for Wales said today.

Stephen Crabb has told a meeting of the Institute of Directors “There should be no limits to the scale of North Wales’ ambition when it comes to the Northern Powerhouse”

He also made the case for devolution within Wales to equip North Wales with the tools and levers it needs to unlock the economic potential of the Northern Powerhouse.

The Secretary of State said:
The Northern Powerhouse has taken off at startling speed as the great cities of the north form an arc of innovation supported by new regional plans for housing, investment, employment and elected mayors. Last month, the Chinese president – leader of one of the world’s most powerful economies – visited Manchester to learn more about what the Northern Powerhouse can offer the rest of the world. The fact that China regards the North as a distinct region to do business with is evidence that our efforts to rebalance the UK economy are bearing fruit.

Mr Crabb said that business leaders should be in the driving seat to ensure North Wales reaps the benefits of the Northern Powerhouse.

In North Wales, we have always looked east to Liverpool and Manchester for economic growth as much as we look south to Cardiff and Swansea. The Northern Powerhouse represents our best chance to bring transformational change to North Wales. But in the same way that the UK government has had the confidence to devolve powers from the centre down to Manchester, we need to see the same confidence in North Wales from politicians in Cardiff.

I want to see a strong alliance between the business community in North Wales and their partners.

It is their role to hold the feet of both the UK and Welsh Government to the fire so this part of the country can secure the world class infrastructure it deserves.

Northern Powerhouse – Wikipedia.

The Northern Powerhouse is a proposal to boost economic growth in the North of England by the 2010-15 coalition government and 2015-20 Conservative government in the United Kingdom, particularly in the “Core Cities” ofLiverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield. The proposal is based on urban agglomeration and aims to rebalance the UK economy away from London and the South East.

The proposal involves improvement to transport links,^[1] investment in science and innovation, and devolution of powers in City Deals.^[2]

In October 2015 during Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s visit to the UK, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the Northern Powerhouse proposal has “Chinese backing”.^[3]

Transport improvements

Proposed transport improvements include High Speed 3 and replacement of Pacer trains, as well as the ongoing work of the Northern Hub to remove a railway bottleneck around Manchester and provide faster connections across the North of England.

Science and innovation

Projects include the National Graphene Institute, Square Kilometre Array and National Biologics Industrial Innovation Centre.

Arts

Manchester will get a new £110 million theatre named The Factory (named after Factory Records).^[4][5]

Devolution

An elected Mayor of Greater Manchester will assume significant powers in Greater Manchester^[6] and other cities may also gain a Mayor. The interim Mayor of Greater Manchester is the former MP for Manchester Central, Tony Lloyd.^[7]

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