AN HISTORIC agreement has been made to unlock the global growth potential of the North West and create an economic zone of international significance.
The Atlantic Gateway is a vision for a sustainable economic zone including Merseyside through to north Cheshire, Chester, Halton and Warrington into Greater Manchester which will establish an area of economic growth second only to London within the UK.
Hosted by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) at Daresbury Science and Innovation Centre, representatives from Liverpool City Region, Manchester City Region and participating councils, agreed to work with partners including the NWDA to turn the strategy into a reality.
The objective is to enhance the city region growth, to support city region strategies and to make it easier for businesses to grow. The Gateway as a whole could create 250,000 new jobs and 400,000 new homes by 2030.
Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the NWDA, said: “Atlantic Gateway is a bold and innovative collaboration across and between city regions to create a growth area which will rank among Europe’s strongest urban economies.
“Atlantic Gateway partners can make it simpler and more enticing for businesses to invest in the area.
“The public purse is going to be constrained – it will be private investment which will characterise the next decade. Businesses need the right conditions for growth – an environment which is not constrained by infrastructure, connectivity and municipal competition.”
