Mayors make case for Northern Arc on a par with Oxford-Cambridge
The Mayors of Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region have restated their claim that a new railway between the two cities would put the North West and neighbouring communities on a par with successful counterparts like Oxford-Cambridge, and support the UK to grow at a faster pace and greater scale.
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 £150 billion and £23.5 billion in exports, they claimed at an event at the MIPIM international property conference and exhibition in Cannes.
Mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram say the Liverpool-Manchester Railway is “the missing piece” of the North’s transport infrastructure, with studies showing it would add £7 billion 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 round table at MIPIM today, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Mayor of Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram outlined how the ‘Northern Arc’ will make a major contribution to the national growth mission and fuel housebuilding, business growth and innovation, and bolster international trade.
Rotheram said: “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.”
Burnham added: ““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.”
