Why Liverpool City Region Should Look Both Ways

Posted on: 16 March 2018 by Alan Chape and Ian Wray in Blog

Alan Chape and Ian Wray are both Heseltine Institute Visiting Fellows. Ian Wray is also Visiting Professor in Geography and Planning.  Alan Chape was formerly Assistant Chief Executive, Liverpool City Council, and Ian Wray, Chief Planner, Northwest Development Agency.

Government’s commitment to city regions continues to grow. The recent consultative National Infrastructure Assessment, by the National Infrastructure Commission, places huge emphasis on the future role of ‘city leaders’, in preparing long term transport and wider infrastructure plans, and implementing them (often this term is synonymous with metropolitan mayors). As the Commission says: ‘city leaders need to take control of urban planning and public transport…need to plan for infrastructure and housing together… integrated properly funded city region strategies for infrastructure, with focus on transport and housing… a well-designed public realm, making cities green and liveable’. Sir John Armitt, the Commission’s Chair, made a speech last December in which he argued the case for even bringing back regional development agencies or creating similar bodies combining LEPS and County Councils.

Combined authorities with metropolitan mayors now exist in six areas and some – notably Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester and James Palmer in Cambridge and Peterborough - have acted rapidly to make their mark on strategic planning. The combined authorities, however, vary widely in their powers and responsibilities, and few have greater responsibilities than the Mayors for Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester. These two big cities are in the lead, at a time when the performance of the North West is ahead of regions on the east side of the Pennines – driven by urban revival in both Liverpool and Manchester, the innate strengths of North Cheshire, and Warrington’s astonishing growth rate. Between 1997 and 2013 Warrington’s GVA growth rate was ranked 8th amongst all the UK’s big towns and cities. Nevertheless, the Midlands Engine is coming up on the rails and the Cambridge-Oxford-Milton Keynes Corridor is commanding much attention and resources. Greater London’s appetite for transport resources remains almost insatiable.

Warrington aside, the two Metro Mayors are providing high level political leadership for the whole of the ‘Mersey Belt’. Increasingly this is an area which functions as a single high level labour market. Between them the cities have one international airport – in Manchester – and one international seaport – in Liverpool. How can we best build on these enormous strengths? There is no shortage of evidence or opinion on the importance of agglomeration economies – effectively these are urban economies of scale and competitive advantages which flow from sheer urban size. A recent report from the Brooking Foundation confirms what is widely known. In the United States the biggest cities are growing fastest.

Liverpool and Manchester are certainly big; but not on a world scale. We would argue that they are not big enough. They could work even more closely together. As recent research by the North West Business Leadership Team shows, what businesses want are better links within the region so that labour pools can be widened, rather than links with other regions. This has very important implications for the so called ‘HS3’ project. Business appears to be telling us that what matters are upgraded links in the region and especially in the Mersey Belt, not tunnels under the Pennines.

Last year we carried out extensive research funded by the Heseltine Institute looking at the connections between Liverpool and its wider economic hinterland, including Greater Manchester, Warrington and North Wales. Our research concluded that Liverpool city region needed to look outward as much as inward, handling increasingly complex bidding, lobbying and planning agendas, whilst widening its political geography. It needs maximum engagement with a wide range of strategic partners, as much as with central government and the core cities. It needs to move swiftly and intelligently, and to be on the front foot, grasping issues and negotiating deals. There is an increasing requirement to engage with government, especially on the Industrial Strategy, National Infrastructure Commission, Northern Powerhouse Trust, Northern Powerhouse and Transport for the North agendas, as well as engaging with the Welsh Assembly on transport, and possibly other issues. Above all the city region needs to think strategically, within as well as outside, the city region, building trust relationships, especially in relation to transport investment where (whether for Liverpool, Manchester and Wales) there has been a long-term tendency to think inside the administrative box and a resignation to a process of disinvestment in public transport.

Traditionally the Liverpool city region has not looked outward. Nor has it pursued a long term agenda beyond the core cities agenda - certainly not an agenda with the breadth, consistency and determination demonstrated in Greater Manchester. We found that there has been little or no interaction, between the city region and the transport agendas pursued by its nearest neighbours in Greater Manchester and North Wales/Chester. However, there are recent signs of a change in mood and behaviour, especially through the auspices of Merseytravel. There has been long term disinvestment in public transport connections between the two city regions and this pattern has only started to change in the last few years. There are few joint fora for thinking about the Liverpool city region, Manchester city region and North Wales transport investment agendas in a synoptic and coherent way. This is an issue for places on or close to the boundary such as Wirral, St Helens and Warrington. There is a significant opportunity to build a common transport agenda with Greater Manchester, expanding the effective labour market mass of both city regions.

If we want to grasp these opportunities of scale, we need to work closely with our adjoining partners. A very good place to start would be a joint transport strategy for the Mersey Belt and North Wales, produced by joint working. And that will mean a much more effective and powerful mayoral and city region strategy team, with the skills and talents to forge these new relationships.