MIPIM UK 2015: A “northern gateway” partnership of seven councils has launched today in a bid to attract investment and get 100,000 new homes built in the Midands by 2040.
Capitalising on HS2 infrastructure, the group will work together to create a development plan identifying sites across the region which can be turned into housing.
The northern gateway spans Cheshire and the north of Staffordshire, including Stoke on Trent, Crewe and the A500 corridor, and partners want to see it become a “growth zone” connecting the northern powerhouse and Midlands engine.
Cheshire East council, Cheshire West and Chester council, Newcastle-Under-Lyme borough council, Stafford borough council, Staffordshire county council, Staffordshire Moorlands district council and Stoke-on-Trent city council have signed up to the scheme.
The local authorities are backed by central government and are working with the Cheshire and Warrington and Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire local enterprise partnerships to spearhead economic growth across the region.
Council leaders and planning staff will be at MIPIM UK in London this week to persuade investors of the region’s development potential.
Housing minister Brandon Lewis, speaking at a launch event at the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall last night, urged partners to sell the northern gateway to Chinese businesses touring the UK this week.
He said: “That kind of foreign investment is going to be vital for taking some of our national infrastructure forward, both in your area but actually more nationally over the coming years.”
Michael Jones, leader of Cheshire East council, said the arrival of HS2 will be a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to realise the full economic potential of the region, which he also hopes will see 120,000 new jobs created by 2040.
David Frost, chairman of the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire LEP, said: “There are enormous growth opportunities. The significance of this is that we are understand that, we are going to deal with it and we are going to manage that growth effectively, but we have got to grab hold of the opportunities, that is what it’s about.”
louisa.clarence-smith@estatesgazette.com
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