Appoint Atlantic Gateway minister, says LEP
THE new local enterprise for Merseyside is calling on the Government to recognise the importance of Atlantic Gateway by appointing a minister to champion the project.
Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LCRLEP) is also asking the government to support a new International Festival of Trade – the first of which it hopes to host on both sides of the Mersey in 2014.
The requests are being made as part of the City Deal being negotiated for the city-region by the LEP. The City of Liverpool has already received £130m through the first phase of the City Deal agreement, which led to the creation of the elected mayor post and the creation of five mayoral enterprise zones around the city.
The new proposals cover the wider city-region, however, and have been jointly submitted by the mayor alongside LEP chairman Robert Hough.
Their report argues that by appointing a minister “with the support of a dedicated Whitehall team”, the Government could ensure that all of its agencies were aligned in helping to deliver a project which could lead to the creation of up to 250,000 jobs and help with its pledge to re-balance the economy.
“If anywhere in the UK can develop the critical mass and momentum to become an alternative growth pole to London, it is the Atlantic Gateway,” it argues.
Moreover, it is seeking £5m from the government to help fund its International Business Festival of the North, which it estimates could cost around £15m, with the remainder coming from local government in the city-region (£5m) and private sector sponsorship (£5m).
The festival, which has been earmarked for the summer of 2014, would be aimed at promoting “our vision that the Mersey once again becomes a key global trading centre”.
It argues that Liverpool’s experience in hosting Capital of Culture and the Expo in Shanghai can be replicated to allow it to show off key assets like the ports, Atlantic Gateway and the North West’s Enterprise Zones to potential investors from key markets such as the US, China, India and South America.
The proposed festival would be held at three sites – the Arena & Convention Centre, Peel’s new International Trade Centre at the Wirral, and a proposed new investment centre in North Liverpool.
The LEP estimates that the festival could deliver benefits of up to £100m for the local economy and said that if targets are not met the Government’s contribution could be repaid.
