Rethinking City-Regionalism As the Production of New Non-State Spatial Strategies: the Case of Peel Holdings Atlantic Gateway Strategy

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Rethinking City-Regionalism As the Production of New Non-State Spatial Strategies: the Case of Peel Holdings Atlantic Gateway Strategy 51(11) 2315–2335, August 2014 Special issue article: City-region governance, 10 years on Rethinking City-regionalism as the Production of New Non-State Spatial Strategies: The Case of Peel Holdings Atlantic Gateway Strategy John Harrison [Paper first received, March 2012; in final form, July 2012] Abstract City-regions are widely recognised as key to economic and social revitalisation. Hardly surprising then is how policy elites have sought to position their own city-regions strate- gically within international circuits of capital accumulation. Typically this geopolitics of city-regionalism has been seen to represent a new governmentalised remapping of state space conforming to the prevailing orthodoxy of neoliberal state spatial restructuring. Through a case study of the Atlantic Gateway Strategy, this paper provides a lens on to an alternative vision for city-region development. The brainchild of a private investment group, Peel Holdings, the Atlantic Gateway is important because it points towards the production of new non-state spatial strategies. Examining Peel’s motives for invoking the city-region concept, the paper goes on to explore the tensions which currently sur- round the strategy to further identify the potential and scope for non-state spatial strate- gies. Connecting this to emerging debates around the key role of asset ownership and the privatisation of local democracy and the democratic state, the paper concludes by suggesting that the key question arising is can and will the state maintain its degree of governmental control over capital investment in major urban regions in an era where persistent underprovision of investment in urban economic infrastructure behoves insti- tutions of the state to become ever more reliant on private investment groups to deliver the deliver the jobs, growth and regeneration of the future. Organization is at the center of attempts to The problem is one of conceptualizing the defend, enhance the interests of those depen- relation between place-specific interests and dent on some particular place-specific power centres. Both have scalar expressions, conditions—to defend or enhance a space of and those with interests have powers (Cox, dependence (Cox, 1998, p. 15). 2010, p. 219). John Harrison is in the Department of Geography, Loughborough University, Martin Hall Building, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK. Email: [email protected]. 0042-0980 Print/1360-063X Online Ó 2013 Urban Studies Journal Limited DOI: 10.1177/0042098013493481 Downloaded from usj.sagepub.com at NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY on May 23, 2015 2316 JOHN HARRISON Introduction: City-regions as England is a vivacious setting within which Political Constructs to pursue city-regional research owing to the smorgasbord of initiatives, policies, stra- Amid globalisation, city-regions are widely tegies and institutional frameworks which recognised as key to economic and social have been summoned up by policy elites in revitalisation. In fact, orthodoxy has devel- recent years to operate across a variously oped around the belief that city-region- defined, city-regional scale (Harrison, 2012). scaled spatial agglomerations are the pivotal This hive of city-regional activity is sympto- social and political-economic formations in matic of how devising new—generally the era of globalised capital accumulation accepted to mean more flexible, networked (Scott, 2001). This is derived from geo- and responsive—forms of planning and gov- economic arguments which confer upon ernance at the scale of city-regions has city-regions the status of competitive terri- ascended to become an officially institutio- tories par excellence. In this respect, we nalised task for political strategists and should not be surprised that policy elites policy elites the world over (OECD, 2007). have looked enviously upon these major Yet for all of the international support, fer- urban and regional growth economies and, vent posturing and triumphalism being captivated by their position at the apex of marshalled by those advocating city-regions the post-Fordist growth dynamic, have as the ‘‘ideal scale for policy intervention in sought to position their own city-regions aglobalizedworld’’(Rodrı´guez-Pose, 2008, strategically within international circuits of p. 1029), critics ultimately believe a ‘thin’ capital accumulation by creating the condi- approach is being adopted (Harrison, 2007; tions necessary to attract transnational Jonas and Ward, 2007). In England, for capital (Brenner, 2009). Accordingly, city- example, the lack of a coherent master plan regionalism no longer refers simply to the has resulted in a set of ‘‘reactionary and geo-economics of city-regions but is incremental adjustments that lack strategic increasingly focused on what Jonas (2012, direction, buy-in and focus’’ (Ayres and p. 823) calls the ‘‘contingently produced Stafford, 2009, p. 619). Stated more bluntly, geopolitical project’’ of late capitalism. initiatives branded as city-regional have pro- From this perspective, emphasis is rightly duced nothing more than a patchwork quilt placed on the need to analyse new modes of assorted, weak and often contradictory of governance and political participation at and overlapping initiatives that have failed the city-region level, alongside the distribu- to live up to expectation. Nonetheless, a tional struggles within city-regions which decade on the enduring appeal of city- shape city-regional institutions and politics. regions remains undiminished among policy Only by doing this, it is argued, can we elites. come to understand ‘‘the contested role of To be sure, the allure of city-regionalism city-regions’’ and as a consequence better as a geopolitical project was embellished in ‘‘theorize capital–state–space relations’’ 2010 when the new Coalition government (Jonas, 2012, p. 827). announced the abolition of the regional tier Notwithstanding the fact that each geo- of governance in England, declaring their political project is specific to the national intention instead to establish Local context within which it is located (Jonas, Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs)—joint local 2013), this paper focuses on recent develop- authority–business bodies supporting local ments in England to enunciate further the economic development by operating across geopolitical construction of city-regions. ‘functional economies’: city-regions in Downloaded from usj.sagepub.com at NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY on May 23, 2015 NEW NON-STATE SPATIAL STRATEGIES 2317 other words (HM Government, 2010; BIS/ million and an economy worth upwards of DCLG, 2010). Today, the map of local and £50 billion (gross value added) per annum, regional economic development in England the Atlantic Gateway is England’s largest is divided into a mosaic of 39 sub-national economic metropolitan area outside units (LEPs), each bearing some, little, or London and has the critical mass necessary no resemblance to city-regions. Yet despite to (at least) be considered a ‘global’ city- the change in political orientation at the region (Scott, 2001). Yet it remains one of centre of UK politics, there is little chance the most socially and economically to celebrate. Early indications suggest only polarised. Four of the seven districts with minimal change to the trajectory or fabric the highest local concentration of depriva- of the city-regionalism project in England tion in England (eight out of the top ten if you include areas within 20 miles of the [Despite being] launched with similar ‘can- Atlantic Gateway) and three of the four dis- do’ business and community empowerment tricts with the highest overall levels of depri- bravado, LEPs are likely to fail. Their modus vation are contained within it (DCLG, operandi involves rolling forward existing 2011a). centrally-orchestrated policy regimes, deploy- In an era of state underprovision— ing limited levers and mechanisms to influ- certainly relative to the investment in ence the business community, and ultimately infrastructure and state subsidy that once being unable to correct deep-rooted market characterised the Fordist/Keynesian state— failures (Jones and Jessop, 2010, p. 1144; the Atlantic Gateway represents an impor- emphasis added). tant window onto what may ultimately turn out to be the next stage of city-regionalism So despite the allure of city-regionalism as as a geopolitical project (see Jonas, 2012, a geopolitical project in England, as else- 2013). To develop this argument, the paper where, there remains limited hope that it begins by situating the AGS within the will achieve the ambitious goals—growth broader framework of how city-regionalism and competitiveness, meaningful economic has emerged as a geopolitical project in prosperity, expected affluence, ability to England. This is important because it shows tackle entrenched inequalities, scope to how the AGS is unusual in that its genesis encourage smart planning, enable piece- occurred outside the formal structures of meal democratic rights—that its academic the state—what, following and extending and non-academic architects and propo- Brenner (2004), we might conceive to be a nents purport.1 new non-state spatial strategy. More sub- Launched in 2008, the Atlantic Gateway stantively, it goes on to raise important Strategy (AGS) provides a radical alternative questions about the changing nature of the to the prevailing orthodoxy of neoliberal state, in particular the role of the state in state spatial restructuring and governmenta- regulating local and regional development
Recommended publications
  • The Northern
    Moving Forward: TheNorthernWay Strategic Direction for Transport Contents Preface 2 Executive Summary 3 1. The Issue 7 The Northern Way Growth Strategy identifes transport as a top priority Transport constraints and economic growth in the North Enhancing the North’s Quality of Life goes hand in hand with growing productivity 2. The Strategic Direction 10 Transport improvements are needed within and between City Regions We need to enhance access to Global Gateways in the North and the rest of the Country Managing demand is at the heart of the strategy The role of road user charging must be considered We wish to work with Government to develop a road user charging proposal that benefi ts the North Information Technology can help us make best use of the North’s transport networks Investment to support the North’s growth 3. Delivery 22 A Need for Partnership Working The Northern Way Growth Fund has been a success A new Northern Way Transport Development Fund is needed 4. The Benefi ts 25 Introduction Short term (to 2011) Medium Term (to 2016) Long Term (from 2016) Contents 1 Preface The Northern Way is a bold and visionary initiative to close the £30bn annual productivity gap between the three northern regions and rest of England. Through its Growth Strategy, the Northern Way has identifi ed the vital role that enhancement and improvement of the North’s transport system will play if this productivity gap is to be bridged. Improvements are the key to effi cient labour markets, to giving good access to employment opportunities and to delivering the connectivity that a resurgent northern economy will require.
    [Show full text]
  • Tees Valley Giants
    5TEES VALLEY GIANTS TEES VALLEY GIANTS A series of five world-class art installations matched only in scale by the ambition of Tees Valley Regeneration in its instigation of the project. Temenos is the first iteration of the five sculptures that will combine as the world’s largest series of public art - the Tees Valley Giants. The epically scaled installations created by Turner Prize winning sculptor Anish Kapoor and pioneering structural designer Cecil Balmond, will soon grace the Tees Valley, with the first of these, Temenos, located at Middlehaven, Middlesbrough. Over the next decade four more structures will be located within each of the other four Tees Valley boroughs: Stockton, Hartlepool, Darlington and Redcar and Cleveland. Although each work is individually designed and specific to its location, the structures will be thematically related, visually linking the Tees Valley and highlighting the ambition for social, cultural and economic regeneration of the Tees Valley as a whole. Massive in impact, scale and world status, Tees Valley Giants is symbolic of the aspiration and ongoing commitment of Tees Valley Regeneration to enhance the way in which the Tees Valley is viewed and experienced. TEMENOS Temenos Greek, meaning ‘land cut off and assigned as sanctuary or holy area.’ Temenos is a bold contemporary artwork which also recalls the heritage of Middlesbrough and the Tees Valley. Its construction will call on the traditional twin skills of the region: precision engineering and heavy industry. Standing at a height of nearly 50 metres and spanning almost 120 metres in length, Temenos will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Middlesbrough’s landmark Transporter Bridge.
    [Show full text]
  • Northern Rail Priorities Statement Five Priorities for Immediate Action and Investment
    NORTHERN ECONOMIC FUTURES COMMISSION NORTHERN RAIL PRIORITIES STATEMENT FIVE PRIORITIES FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION AND INVESTMENT March 2012 © IPPR North 2012 Institute for Public Policy Research 1 IPPR North | Northern rail priorities statement: Five priorities for immediate action and investment Foreword in skills.2 Rail investment will provide the platform for The Northern Economic Futures Commission is sustainable growth for the northern regions. More developing a medium-term strategy for sustainable specifically, investment in infrastructure priorities that economic development in the North of England. This is a make rail franchises cheaper to run reduce long-term sizeable challenge, yet one which needs to be taken on subsidies, increasing productivity and making growth if the North is to be at the vanguard of the UK’s recovery more sustainable. and able to compete in the global economy. Alongside • The economic interdependence of the North’s eight skills and innovation, transport infrastructure is crucial city-regions will only increase: Much economic growth for ensuring that the northern economy is the driver of over the coming years will be driven by the expansion of national prosperity that it has the potential to be. knowledge-based sectors that increasingly rely on larger Our work in the area of transport continues to develop employment catchment areas. To ensure that growth is not the Northern Way Transport Compact’s previous constrained, transport provision will need to be improved consideration of what the strategic transport priorities and better joined up between and within the city regions. A for the North of England should be.1 But the urgency is report by LSE’s Spatial Economics Research Centre (SERC) now far greater.
    [Show full text]
  • New Fonts Strand 5 Hudson Report Layout 1
    New Fonts Strand 5 Hudson Report:Layout 1 13/09/2011 09:09 Page a N8 Research Partnership The impacts of demographic change in the functional economies of the North of England Summary Report Ray Hudson Durham University with Lisa Buckner University of Leeds Tom Cannon University of Liverpool Alan Harding University of Manchester Kasia Kurowska Newcastle University Philip Rees University of Leeds New Fonts Strand 5 Hudson Report:Layout 1 13/09/2011 09:09 Page b New Fonts Strand 5 Hudson Report:Layout 1 13/09/2011 09:09 Page i N8 Research Partnership The impacts of demographic change in the functional economies of the North of England Summary Report Ray Hudson Durham University Contact author: Ray Hudson Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Partnerships and Engagement), Durham University, University Office, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP, UK Telephone: +44 (0)191 334 6045 Email: [email protected] New Fonts Strand 5 Hudson Report:Layout 1 13/09/2011 09:09 Page ii About the N8 The N8 is a group of the eight most research intensive universities in the North — Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and York. All N8 universities are ranked in the top 200 of the World University Rankings. Combined, the N8 universities have 125 “top 10” subject rankings in the UK (RAE 2008). The N8 partnership was created in 2007, establishing virtual research centres in Regenerative Medicine and Molecular Engineering. It was a novel way of creating a confluence of research assets and capabilities across the partnership, with sufficient scale and critical mass, to move on broader industrial and commercial opportunities.
    [Show full text]
  • Cities Nw Book2
    Produced by Northwest Regional Development Agency and Centre for Cities at ippr July 2006 CCarlislearlisle WWorkingtonorkington KKendalendal BBarrow-in-Furnessarrow-in-Furness LLancasterancaster BBlackpoollackpool BBurnleyurnley PPrestonreston BBlackburnlackburn SSouthportouthport RRochdaleochdale BBuryury BBoltonolton WWiganigan OOldhamldham MManchesteranchester SStt HHelenselens LLiverpooliverpool SStockporttockport BBirkenheadirkenhead WWarringtonarrington RRuncornuncorn MMacclesfieldacclesfield CChesterhester CCrewerewe GVA & Population: RES Sub-Regions GVA Total GVA Share Population (£ bn) (of Northwest) (2004) Cumbria 5.984 6.2% 494,800 Cheshire & Warrington 15.537 16.0% 873,700 Greater Manchester 38.329 39.5% 2,539,000 Lancashire 19.136 19.7% 1,434,900 Greater Merseyside 18.111 18.7% 1,484,800 Sources: Regional Accounts, December 2005, ONS and Mid Year Population Estimates, 2004, NOMIS Note: Halton has been included with Merseyside based on an estimate from Pion, August 2005 Produced by Northwest Regional Development Agency and Centre for Cities at ippr July 2006 Contents 1. Foreword Bryan Gray, Chairman, NWDA 2. City-Regions: Understanding the Policy Background Dermot Finch, Director, Centre for Cities 3. Governing the Manchester City-Region Richard Leese, Leader, Manchester City Council 4. The Manchester City-Region: Building on Success Tom Bloxham, Chairman, Urban Splash Ltd 5. ‘Spreading the Benefits’ of Growth Felicity Goodey, Chairman, Central Salford URC 6. The Liverpool City-Region: Harnessing Cultural Capital Warren Bradley, Leader, Liverpool City Council 7. Central Lancashire: The Necessary Mythical Beast? Professor Sir Peter Hall, Chairman, ReBlackpool 8. Developing the Economic Potential of Smaller Cities Dr Malcolm McVicar, Vice Chancellor, University of Central Lancashire 9. The Central Lancashire City-Region: Blackburn, East Lancashire and the Transformational Agenda David Taylor, Chairman, Elevate East Lancashire 10.
    [Show full text]
  • Spatial Planning for the City-Region
    spatial planning for the city-region Using Leeds as a case study example, Dave Counsell and Graham Haughton look at spatial planning for the city-region, focusing on integration between different tiers in the planning hierarchy Recent years have seen a number of new policy scales for spatial and economic governance being proposed by government policy documents. Examples include meta-regions such as the Northern Way and Midlands Way, the Sustainable Communities Plan growth areas and housing market renewal areas, and the (re-)emergence of city-regions. The city-region in particular has received considerable political and media attention. After the North East voted in a referendum against having an elected regional assembly, some key lobby interests began to align themselves with the idea that city-regions might be the way forward for devolution in England. With the powerful Core Cities Group of eight English local authorities seeking to position large provincial cities higher up the national agenda, city-regions have been much talked about.1 This article looks at spatial planning in the Leeds city-region. Its focus is on integration between different tiers in the planning hierarchy, ranging from new ‘meta-regions’ such as the Northern Way to local action area strategies. It begins by looking at how an emerging city-region Above scale is being inserted into the policy hierarchy, but in an inconsistent way alongside existing Northern Way city-regions ‘administrative’ sub-regions. It then explores Source: www.thenorthernway.co.uk how plans at different policy scales relate to each other and to delivery, drawing on more than 20 Communities Plan seemed to be planning only for interviews with regional policy-makers and decline in the North, not growth.
    [Show full text]
  • Northern Devolution Through the Lens of History
    This is a repository copy of From problems in the North to the problematic North : Northern devolution through the lens of history. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/113610/ Book Section: Martin, Daryl orcid.org/0000-0002-5685-4553, Schafran, Alex and Taylor, Zac (2017) From problems in the North to the problematic North : Northern devolution through the lens of history. In: Berry, Craig and Giovannini, Arianna, (eds.) Developing England's North. Building a Sustainable Political Economy . Palgrave Macmillan . Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Submission for the WR Network book. DRAFT. DO NOT DISTRIBUTE From problems in the North to the problematic North: Northern devolution through the lens of history Daryl Martin, Department of Sociology, University of York Alex Schafran, School of Geography, University of Leeds Zac Taylor, School of Geography, University of Leeds Abstract: Current debates about Northern English cities and their role in national economic strategies cannot be read simply through the lens of contemporary politics.
    [Show full text]
  • The Northern Way Growth Strategy Progress Report: May 2004
    Appendix 1 THE NORTHERN WAY GROWTH STRATEGY PROGRESS REPORT: MAY 2004 NEW CONFIDENCE - A NEW CHALLENGE There is a new confidence in the North of England. In the Deputy Prime Minister’s February report on the Sustainable Communities Plan: Making it Happen: The Northern Way, he called for new proposals to build on this confidence. The DPM therefore welcomed the proposal from the three northern Regional Development Agencies to prepare The Northern Way Growth Strategy to harness the untapped potential for economic growth in the North of England along key economic and transport corridors. In March the three RDAs established the Northern Way Steering Group, chaired by Sir Graham Hall to guide the preparation of The Growth Strategy. Membership includes the Chairpersons of the three RDAs (who are drawn from the regions’ business communities), the leaders from the three Northern Assemblies, the Chair of English Partnerships, representatives from the Core Cities, the housing sector, universities and developers. The attached annex provides additional detail on governance arrangements and process. This short report summarises our thinking so far. Clearly, this work is particularly important and pertinent at this time, in the context of the current debate over devolved decision making and the forthcoming referenda on Elected Regional Assemblies. OUR VISION We offer a simple vision for the North: The Northern Way Growth Strategy will establish the North of England as an area of exceptional opportunity combining a world-class economy with a superb quality of life. It will set out how we will develop the North’s current and potential future assets in a staged manner to deliver this vision by 2025.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Recession on Northern City Regions:Layout 1.Qxd
    WWW.IPPR.ORG/NORTH TheImpactofthe RecessiononNorthern City-Regions ByTonyDolphin October2009 ©ippr2009 2 ipprnorth|TheImpactoftheRecessiononNorthernCity-Regions Aboutipprnorth ipprnorth,theNewcastle-basedofficeoftheInstituteforPublicPolicyResearch,produces far-reachingpolicyideas,stimulatingsolutionsthatworknationallyaswellaslocally.These areshapedfromourresearch,whichspanseconomicdevelopment,regeneration,public servicesanddevolutionaswellasastrongdemocraticengagementstrandwhichinvolvesa widerangeofaudiencesinpoliticaldebates. ipprnorth,2ndFloor,20CollingwoodStreet,NewcastleUponTyneNE11JF Tel+44(0)1912339050|www.ippr.org/north RegisteredCharityNo.800065 ThispaperwasfirstpublishedinOctober2009.©ipprnorth2009 Abouttheproject Thispaperwasoriginallypreparedaspartoftheevidencebaseforthe‘MakingCityRegions WorkforDeprivedCommunities’project,amajorprogrammeofworkbeingundertakenby ipprnorth,withtheJosephRowntreeFoundationandtheNorthernWay.Itaimsto understandwhy,earlierinthisdecade,someareaswithincity-regionsintheNorthof Englandremaineddeprivedevenwhenthesurroundingeconomywasperformingstrongly;to explorehowdeprivedareascanbebetterlinkedtoareasofeconomicopportunity;to considertherolesoflocal,city-regional,regionalandnationalbodiesandtoinformthenext generationofpoliciestargetedatdeprivedcommunities. Theviewsexpressedinthispaperarethoseoftheauthorandnotnecessarilythoseofippr north,theJosephRowntreeFoundationortheNorthernWay. 3 ipprnorth|TheImpactoftheRecessiononNorthernCity-Regions Executivesummary ThispaperlooksatthegeographicaleffectoftherecessionacrosstheUnitedKingdomand,
    [Show full text]
  • Title of Report
    EXECUTIVE 3 August 2004 TEES VALLEY INVESTMENT STRATEGY AND NORTHERN WAY EXECUTIVE MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC REGENERATION AND CULTURE CLLR DAVID BUDD ASSISTANT CHIEF EXECUTIVE - REGENERATION TIM WHITE PURPOSE OF THE REPORT 1. To inform the Executive of Middlesbrough’s progress on a submission to the Tees Valley Investment Strategy 2005/08 and associated representations in respect of the Northern Way. BACKGROUND AND EXTERNAL CONSULTATION 2. ONE Northeast recently published guidance on the investment priorities for Sub-Regional Partnerships (SRPs) for the period 2005-2008, with a view to the development of bids for its resources. It also coincides with the Office of Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) launching the Northern Way. This will be a strategy designed to ensure that the three northern regions (Northwest, Northeast and Yorkshire and Humberside) enhance their contribution to the development of the national economy by improving their existing growth rates. 3. The aspirations for Middlesbrough and the sub-region for both these strategies need to be expressed in a consistent manner and therefore joint submissions for both the Northern Way and the ONE Northeast investment are being prepared. 4. CMT will recall that the Tees Valley Partnership (TVP) leads on the development of the sub-regional approach for the Single Programme. Likewise a joint arrangement has been adopted for inputs into the Northern Way. 5. The sub-region is well placed to contribute to these initiatives, given the development of the Tees Valley Vision. The submissions will be based on the core themes of the Vision, although there is a need to develop the concepts into a costed investment strategy.
    [Show full text]
  • Liverpool City Region
    City Relationships: Economic Linkages in Northern city regions Liverpool City Region November 2009 The Northern Way Stella House, Goldcrest Way, Newburn Riverside, Newcastle upon Tyne NE15 8NY Telephone: 0191 229 6200 Website: www.thenorthernway.co.uk © One NorthEast on behalf of The Northern Way Copyright in the design and typographical arrangement rests with One NorthEast. This publication, excluding logos, may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium for research, private study or for internal circulation within an organisation. This is subject to it being reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as copyright One NorthEast and the title of the publication specified. City Relationships: 1 Economic Linkages in Northern city regions Liverpool City Region Contents Summary 2 1: Introduction 6 2: Background 10 3: Labour market relationships in the city region 19 4: Firm links and supply chains 28 5: Characterising links between Liverpool and neighbouring towns and cities 38 6: Key findings and policy conclusions 47 Annex A – Interviewees 52 2 City Relationships: Economic Linkages in Northern city regions Liverpool City Region Summary This is one of seven reports published as part of the City Relationships research programme. The research aimed to test a hypothesis derived from previous research that stronger and more complementary economic relationships between towns and cities in the North of England would generate higher levels of sustainable economic growth and development. The project examined the economic relationships between the five most significant economic centres in the North – Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield – and selected cities and towns nearby, looking in particular at labour market linkages and the connections between businesses.
    [Show full text]
  • Strengthening Economic Linkages Between Leeds and Manchester: Feasibility and Implications: Full Report
    Henry G. Overman, Stephen Gibbons, Sabine D'Costa, Giordano Mion, Panu Pelkonen, Guilherme Resende and Mike Thomas Strengthening economic linkages between Leeds and Manchester: feasibility and implications: full report Report Original citation: Overman, Henry G. and Gibbons, Stephen and D'Costa, Sabine and Mion, Giordano and Pelkonen, Panu and Resende, Guilherme and Thomas, Mike (2009) Strengthening economic linkages between Leeds and Manchester: feasibility and implications: full report. The Northern Way, Newcastle upon Tyne. This version available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/30806/ Originally available from The Northern Way Available in LSE Research Online: April 2012 © 2009 One North East on behalf of The Northern Way LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LSE Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute the URL (http://eprints.lse.ac.uk) of the LSE Research Online website. Strengthening Economic Linkages between Leeds and Manchester: Feasibility and Implications Full Report November 2009 This research programme was delivered by the A Steering Group supported the implementation of Spatial Economics Research Centre (SERC) the research programme, and policy implications and was commissioned and sponsored by were informed by discussions at a Policy The Northern Way.
    [Show full text]