Sir Howard’s way is not Atlantic Gateway
MANCHESTER City Council chief Sir Howard Bernstein is on collision course with Peel Holdings over its ambitious £50bn Atlantic Gateway plan.
In his report to the council executive next week Sir Howard witheringly says the current plans fail to make a case that “Atlantic Gateway represents a unique opportunity for the region.”
The difference of opinion is the latest in series of high profile disputes between Manchester and Peel, the most serious fall-out occurring in the run-up to the 2008 referendum on congestion charging in Greater Manchester.
The scheme was driven by Sir Howard but bitterly opposed by Peel, which owns the Trafford Centre and Liverpool John Lennon Airport as well as the Manchester Ship Canal.
Peel’s financial support to the ‘No’ campaign saw the road pricing plans comprehensively rejected.
In his response to the Atlantic Gateway – Framework for a Global Growth
Opportunity consultation, Sir Howard says the Atlantic Gateway project gives too much weight to regeneration schemes in the Merseyside and Warrington area and does not acknowledge the importance of the Manchester city region to the North West.
He says: “The focus on the role of the two city regions (Liverpool and Manchester) in driving growth is acknowledged and welcomed.
“However, there is no differentiation between the scale of development
proposed in different parts of the Atlantic Gateway – the Manchester city region accounts for the overwhelming majority of predicted growth, yet the majority of projects outlined relate to the Merseyside/Warrington area.”
He claims too that the plans have the potential to “undermine and dilute” economic growth in the North West.
Sir Howard’s stance puts Manchester at odds with the The North West Development Agency which believes the scheme has huge potential for revitalising the region.
