One North – business reacts

THE prospect of a £15bn transport investment plan – outlined in the One North report – has been well-received by some in the business community.

The report, compiled by five Northern cities, was presented to Chancellor George Osborne yesterday and it will now be considered by Government.

At the heart of the proposals is a faster rail link between Manchester and Leeds, reducing the journey time from 50 minutes to 30.

The Chancellor has promised to commit cash to his “Northern powerhouse” project and to make investment in the North a central plank of his Autumn Statement.

But for Dr Mike Kelly, the founder of datacentre business Telecity and new Salford-based venture Datacentred, there should be more focus on the IT infrastructure.

He said: “While we, of course, welcome the infrastructure investment to better connect our Northern cities with physical transport, which is so important for the development of the region, we must also ensure that the cities are properly connected – digitally – to support growth outside of London.

“With some 95% of Internet data routed through London, the UK internet infrastructure is inefficient, causing latency delays, and presenting huge risk from the lack of resilience and diversity in routing around the country. It also exposes our International connectivity, and is a very material cost for both operators, and ultimately users of the internet.”

He added: “Creating regional hubs of digital activity, highly connected and with very large shared digital resources, and clusters of digital businesses around them, will underpin the developments of more efficient road and rail investment, and genuinely can lead the North to play its part in another industrial revolution.”

Paul Kenyon, co-founder of Cheadle-based security software firm Avecto, said: “This is great news for the regional economy. The North has been crying out for infrastructure investment and if the proposals in the One North report are realised then businesses will find themselves in a much stronger position.  On a practical level, improved road and rail links mean companies would be able to attract and retain talent from further afield, with commuting times slashed across the region. This would be a real boost for us at Avecto.

“Manchester has always played an important role in the North’s economic development, but by pooling together the resources of major cities, the resulting ‘northern powerhouse’ could extend the influence we had during the Industrial Age into the Digital Revolution.”

Philip Waters, a solicitor at Your Legal Friend said: “As the economy gets back on its feet, we need to make the most of our regional powerhouses across the whole of the UK. As a region we need to work together with other successful Northern cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle rather than just focusing on gaining better access to the capital. Building a solid, dependable and safe infrastructure system will improve accessibility to local goods, services and people.

“Our transport system is under immense pressure, so the £15bn will be money well spent and the Mersey Gateway Bridge is a great example of how Liverpool can act as a connector in the region. At the same time a new transport system means safer and more efficient road and rail networks to ensure the safety of future generations.”