MIPIMUK 2015: Secretary of state for communities and local government Greg Clark toured several local authority stands as MIPIM UK opened this morning.
Plymouth brought him up to date with progress on South Yard, part of the former naval base at Devonport Dockyard which has now been handed over to the council by the MoD, an event for which Clark visited Plymouth in April to see paperwork signed.
Jack Brereton, from Stoke council, discussed the northern gateway development zone between Birmingham and Manchester and plans to create 100,000 new homes and 120,000 jobs there in the next 20 years, buoyed by growth that is expected to follow construction of HS2.
“We are one of the top areas for creating manufacturing jobs and we aspire to grow. He was here to support our ambitions and the work we are doing with DCLG,” Brereton said.
Clark was keen to find out why Worcestershire had brought a Morgan three-wheeler sports car to the stand and discussed the varied skills base in the county and its rate of housebuilding.
Middlesbrough-born Clark talked to the Tees Valley Unlimited team. The area is still reeling from the closure of the SSI steelworks at Redcar but Tees Valley Unlimited senior business investment manager John Leer told Clark that there is already a pipeline of projects and that the area is “open for business”.
“We have regular dialogue with DCLG about our enterprise zones, around the devolution deal and looking at the Tees Valley economy and what resilience is there,” said Lees.
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