North Wales must be part of the Northern PowerhouseBusiness leaders say North Wales must be part of the Northern Powerhouse proposal that is bidding to transform the economy of the North of England.
The Northern Powerhouse concept has been created to help link the North’s major cities into a collective force that could help tackle the economic gulf with London and the South East.
Former Welsh Secretary David Jones has already said North Wales needs to be part of the strategy and recently hit out on the topic - claiming the region had been ‘shunted into the sidings’.
Now business leaders in the region have called for the area to be involved in the proposals to ensure it is not left out of the loop.
“The population of North Wales at the last census was 688.000, that of Hull 256,000.
“In North Wales we need to be part of the discussions on HS2, we need to be part of the discussions on all infrastructure plans made across the Powerhouse.
“One key reason why is that much of the industry in the North West has a vested interest in ensuring the transport infrastructure in North Wales is fit for purpose to ensure efficient links not just to developments in Wrexham, Broughton and Anglesey but also to maintain an accessible UK/Eire link leading to Holyhead .
“And that is before I get to the needs of the tourism and leisure industry in North Wales.
“Our main tourist market is the North West of England.
“People need to travel rapidly and efficiently to their leisure destination. If they cannot, they will look elsewhere.”
“North Wales should be part of initiatives like those, capitalising on the global gateways of Liverpool and Manchester to drive the dispersal of international visitors into North Wales and delivering new growth opportunities for the region.”
North Wales chair of the CBI Tracy North said: “North Wales businesses operate east-west, into the North West, not north-south with Cardiff, so the Northern Powerhouse presents a fantastic opportunity for businesses in our region.
“We must, however, be proactive about publicising our offering and shouting about our successes, as this is what the other Northern Powerhouse regional economies are doing. We need to be starting now.
“Our infrastructure still needs improving. Electrification of the North Wales rail line and better direct rail access to the Wirral and Liverpool will help the big proportion of the region’s workforce that criss-crosses the border daily.
“The A5117 continues to be a bottleneck at Queensferry and the A55 is regularly congested. Highways investment similar to that proposed for the M4 in south Wales would add lanes, and remove roundabouts in the western A55.
“Continued lack of access to affordable broadband infrastructure in North Wales could discourage Northern Powerhouse leaders and investors from engaging with smaller firms on our side of the border.”
MORE.....
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/business-news/north-wales-must-part-northern-9617206