Collaborative Manchester inspires West Midlands

THE West Midlands is looking to Manchester for inspiration in its dealings with central Government.

In a move that is likely to raise eyebrows given Birmingham’s rivalry with Manchester, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group (BCCG) and the Black Country Chambers of Commerce (BCCC) have produced a joint document calling for urgent action on transport issues across the West Midlands “without boundaries”.

It is a call to follow the ‘city region’ lead of Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield.

BCCG chief executive Jerry Blackett said: “It’s time to put tribal differences behind us and do more together. We are calling on the two Local Enterprise Partnerships in Greater Birmingham and the Black Country to create a shared vision for transport.

“It’s clear from our research that the Government only takes local areas seriously when the geography is sufficiently large enough to capture the Treasury’s interest. That’s what Greater Manchester, and the city regions of Leeds and Sheffield have done.

“They are winning transport spend. Leeds and Sheffield are seeking to secure transport funds of £1bn and £500m respectively, and Manchester is currently constructing the highly-anticipated Northern Hub project.

“Together, the Black Country and Birmingham geographies could be generating vastly higher productivity levels and tax revenues if the economic potential is enabled by the right transport infrastructure. Businesses do not recognise local authority borders and time is of the essence. Let’s act now.”

The two Chambers have joined forces to produce a discussion document which identifies the importance of large economic geographies working together to maximise investment in transport infrastructure from the government and others.