Does the North still need the Northern Powerhouse? More than five years since its launch it appears much has changed. A much improved sense of cohesion between the region’s key towns and cities seems to be presented to the outside world and Greater Manchester, as the jewel in the crown, continues to sparkle ever brighter.
So has it served its purpose? Or does the region still desperately need to come together to market itself in order to maintain its momentum?
According to Chris Brown, director at Marketing Liverpool, there is a chronic need for the organisation so that the voices of smaller town and cities can be heard. He made the comments as part of the panel discussing What’s next for the Northern Powerhouse at EG’s UK and Ireland stand at Expo Real.
“We have identities and differentiators to make ourselves distinctive in the marketplace but it is important to collaborate still,” he said. “It is about bringing scale to what we were doing anyway. It’s about us not talking about having four universities in Liverpool but 12 in a wider geographical area.”
Collegiate attitude
He said relations between cities had improved as a result and a more collegiate attitude was prevailing.
“The collaboration that is now starting to happen means we are talking less in silos. A number of years ago we would have sat in Liverpool and thought, ‘Those buggers in Manchester are getting all the business’, but we don’t do that now.”
Although Manchester leads the charge for the region, its internationally renowned status has created affordability issues. The options within the region, according to Michael Green, cabinet member for economic development, environment and planning at Lancashire County Council, is something the Northern Powerhouse should be shouting about.
He said: “We are pleased Manchester is successful because that leads the way but there is so much more to the Northern Powerhouse than Manchester. It is about quality of life and Manchester is fast becoming quite expensive and, while it is not about competing, it is important to stress what else is on offer in the North of England.
“In Lancashire we have always had a range of skills and a level of manufacturing above the national average. We have the fourth biggest aerospace sector in the world, as well great places to live.”
Focus on Manchester
Despite insurance giant Aviva’s success in unifying some of the region’s minds and organisations, David Skinner, its managing director, real estate strategy and fund management, said the company’s focus on Greater Manchester was largely regardless of the Northern Powerhouse and that he was unlikely to invest elsewhere in the region as a result of it.
“Policies that underpin the Northern Powerhouse are helpful in terms of promoting growth to the region but we are actually committed to Greater Manchester irrespective of whether the Northern Powerhouse regains momentum or not,” he said.
“Many of the characteristics that we are attracted to pre-date the existence of the term the Northern Powerhouse in terms of its connectivity, having a progressive council and high amounts of inward investment.”
Aviva is simplifying its office portfolio in the UK to concentrate on only five cities or areas – London, Greater Manchester, Birmingham, Cambridge and Thames Valley – and Skinner saw little chance of that wavering soon, despite the initiatives being made elsewhere in the North.
“We want to be invested in relatively few markets where we have high conviction. We don’t think in terms of regions, we think in terms of vibrant cities. We don’t want to be everywhere and the more cities we choose to be invested in the more the power of our presence is diluted. We feel we are able to gain information advantage by being a big player where we choose to invest and by having to use fewer service providers we get a better relationship and better value for money, as well as having better relations with planning authorities and local councils than if we spread ourselves across the whole of the UK.”
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