Liverpool City Council - The Northern Way

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The Northern Way

cover and pages from the Northern Way document

The Northern Way - what is it?

The Sustainable Communities Plan is at the heart of the Government's commitment to transform communities and improve the quality of life for everyone.  It is backed with £22 billion of investment over three years and marks a step change in the Government's approach to housing, planning and economic development.

The Sustainable Communities Plan is a major part of the Government's wish to transform communities and improve the quality of life for everyone.  £22 billion will be spent over three years.  This shows the Government's new approach to housing, planning and economic development.

The first progress report on the Sustainable Communities Plan was published in July 2003.  Called "Making it Happen: The Thames Gateway and the Growth Areas", it not only showed how new sustainable communities were being built in the wider South East and South Midlands - but highlighted how poor the economy of the North was compared with the relatively wealthy South. 

Seeing that something more needs to be done for the North, the Government has now agreed to "The Northern Way".  This new policy will:

  • capitalise on the north's excellent prospects for economic growth and prosperity by including a new vision for jobs;
  • support housing renewal and growth across the three northern regions (particularly through the Housing Market Renewal Initiative);
  • support major new public transport projects;
  • encourage sustainable growth and regeneration, particularly in the re-use of brownfield sites; 
  • invest in parks and green spaces; and 
  • change the planning system to help deliver faster, better quality development.      

There is a new confidence and energy in many of our northern and Midlands towns and cities.  After years of decline, people are moving back.  

Major cities, such as Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle, are seeing new buildings arrive that few would have believed possible a decade ago.  This urban renaissance has been supported by the local authorities; the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs); and their delivery partners, such as English Partnerships (EP), the Housing Corporation, and the new Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs).  

However, the Government wants to quicken the pace of change and spread the growth beyond the Core Cities and into the wider regional economy.

The North has many assets:-

  • great cities; 
  • wonderful countryside and national parks; 
  • leading universities; 
  • strong transport links; 
  • a heritage of innovation and enterprise that once made Britain the workshop of the world;  
  • the Commonwealth Games in Manchester was a showcase for the world;  
  • the fantastic regeneration of the Quayside in Newcastle and Gateshead is world-class;
  • Liverpool has won the European Capital of Culture bid for 2008;
  • the three northern regions have a home market of some 15 million people; and
  • the North is well placed to benefit from the expanding markets in Northern and Eastern Europe, and in Ireland.      

Now is the time to make best use of transport links in the North - both those that already exist and the improvements that are currently planned.  These include the upgrade of the West Coast Main Line; widening the M6 from Birmingham to Manchester; and major improvements to the M60, M62, M1 and A1(M). 

These and other improvements will help to make sure that the M6 and West Coast Main Line, the M1 corridor, the A1(M) and East Coast Main Line, and the M62 and rail link across the Pennines, all provide a framework for growth that can match the growth corridors of the Thames Gateway and the wider South East.  

The regional airports are growing too, especially Manchester, the largest airport outside London; and also Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

To support a step change in development, "The Northern Way" is a long-term vision that will:-

  • make best use of the economic and transport corridors that connect the North to the rest of the country;
  • promote greater inter-regional collaboration;
  • lift the productivity of the three northern regions and bring the jobs, investment and quality housing that can create sustainable communities.  

 

The Northern Way - what will Liverpool be doing?

Together with its neighbouring local authorities Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens and Halton, The Mersey Partnership and other public sector partners, Liverpool has developed a strategic prospectus for the city region.  This outlines the current and future potential contribution to building a thriving Northern economy. It was published in May 2005.

Liverpool and its Merseyside partners are working on this venture with a wider group of local authorities in the surrounding travel-to-work areas.  These include Chester, Cheshire, Ellesmere Port, Warrington, West Lancashire and North Wales.  

 

Do you want to know more?

You can read the prospectus on the government's Northern Way Website.

If you want to know more, you can view "The Liverpool City Region" document (PDF [2.8Mb] opens in new window).  This was an early summary of what the Northern Way will mean for Liverpool and Merseyside.  It was prepared in January 2005.  It is an Adobe PDF documents. If you have problems accessing PDFs you can download a PDF viewer, use a PDF conversion tool or find out more about PDF accessibility.

Find out more on the Northern Way website.