http://www.nwda.co.uk/pdf/315_ISSUE6

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315째 THE RDA MAGAZINE JUNE 2005 ISSUE 06

Boom in bioscience Incubating advances in healthcare Daresbury campus Magnet for science investment Waterscape renewal Canal builders back at work Royal gift brainwave Farmers reveal digital camera skills Culture capital art05 showcases regional talent

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Contents

Cover image Bio culture breeds success John Durham/Science Photo Library

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The third degree Steven Broomhead

Bryan Gray

10 Agency leads action to help flood victims 11 Gunning for glory

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I am extremely proud of the Regional Development Agency's significant contribution to this step change in our regional economy and in my second term as Chairman of the RDA I will be ensuring that we continue this momentum as we review the Regional Economic Strategy (RES).

Regeneration

12 New schemes exploit canals heritage 14 Summit showcase for new urbanism 15 Northern Way moves into action

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Skills & Employment

16 University packs a killer punch 18 Schools drive to ease skills shortage 19 Brainy idea wins royal approval

Infrastructure

However, as much as we can celebrate the region’s successes, we also continue to face long-term challenges, including gaps in productivity, skills, enterprise, innovation, and the knowledge sector. Although the groundwork for development has been laid over the past three years, we must now ensure that the new RES provides the foundations on which to address these challenges.

20 Broadband revolution gathers speed 22 Liverpool Digital attracts first tenants

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24 Culture capital hosts arts showcase 26 Cumbria targets outdoor activity market

I urge you all to work with us to get this process right by visiting www.nwda.co.uk/strategy and contributing to this important debate.

Bryan Gray June 2005

315° Contacts

28 Whitehall despatches 29 Event highlights 30 Viewpoint

The RES provides everyone in the Northwest with a unique opportunity to help shape the future economic development of the Northwest, and later this year we will be holding sub-regional events to engage our partners in contributing towards the process in hand. Only by working in partnership to develop a Regional Economic Strategy that is fresh, clear and focussed on the action required to deliver prosperity across the region, can we lead the Northwest to even greater success.

Editor

NWDA

Trevor Bates email@trevorbates.fsnet.co.uk

Claire Hodgkinson 01925 400 232 claire.hodgkinson@nwda.co.uk

Chairman’s message

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New discoveries enhance region’s bioscience status Daresbury aims to close North-South science gap

England’s Northwest has witnessed a period of almost unprecedented sustained economic growth over the past three years. Evidence arising from a new economic baseline report commissioned by the Agency points to a very positive overall performance of the region, with employment growth, business start-ups and labour market performance all much stronger in the Northwest than nationally.

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Business Development

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Chairman

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The Third Degree

Steven

Broomhead Steven Broomhead has been Chief Executive of the Northwest Regional Development Agency for the last two years with responsibility for the sustainable economic development of the region and its strategic economic leadership.

The NWDA and its partners are embarking on the third review of the Regional Economic Strategy (RES). How will past experience shape the new drafting process?

When the RES was last produced in 2003 there was a feeling it was NWDA-driven so we are mounting a special effort this time to get the region fully mobilised behind the process. We must remember that it’s a strategy for the region. We have also set up an Advisory Group of 20 key regional organisations to guide and influence the review.

This is a new departure. We want to hear many more voices this time as we develop the future economic blueprint for the region. There will be focus but more inclusivity than in the past.

What is the Agency’s role in the RES? We have a legal obligation to coordinate and manage the whole process and ensure the strategy is produced to a strict timetable.

Once it has gained government approval it will be used to drive the development of the region’s priorities between 2006-2009. The RES will focus the NWDA’s investment priorities around the evolving needs of our economy and it will be a significant influence on how other public sector investment is made in the region. It is vital we align the RES with emerging spatial, skills, housing and transport priorities. We will need to focus on interventions where the public sector can make the biggest difference.

Have you been able to identify the key challenges facing the Northwest in the next few years?

Yes, to a large extent. We have received valuable pointers from a study undertaken by Regeneris as part of the review exercise.

The Northwest Economic Baseline: Issues Report sets out the region’s current economic performance and highlights challenges that include gaps within productivity, enterprise, innovation and the knowledge sector. Our regional intra and inter transport access also remains a major challenge, as does the wider issue of social inclusion, worklessness and low skills levels, all of which are prominent in areas of high deprivation.

All this throws up a number of important future challenges. Skills issues remain paramount and there needs to be a serious and concerted effort to improve employability and reduce worklessness.

Transport congestion, changing land requirements and the growth of road, rail, and air links present a different, but equally significant, set of challenges. How we deal with these ‘economic management’ issues is likely to have an enormous effect on economic growth. A much fuller Economic Analysis will be available from May. Both studies will be available on the Agency’s website www.nwda.co.uk.

What are the main conclusions?

There are some significant findings. The analysis highlights an output gap of £13.6 billion between the Northwest and the England average per head of population. This means the region is 12.2% below the per capita average. About £3 billion of this is due to less people working here because of the age structure and the employment rate, which is less than the UK average. An extra 80,000 people will have to be in work to bring us up to the English average and 270,000 to put us on a par with the South East.

Is this employment rate deficit evenly distributed?

No. About 70,000 of the 80,000 live in parts of just six local authority areas – Manchester, Liverpool, Knowsley, Salford, Halton and Barrow.

With the exception of Barrow all are located close to engines of economic growth, places like the city centres of Manchester and Liverpool, so we see a picture of large pockets of worklessness juxtaposed next to economic hotspots. It’s clear that these growth nodes are attracting people from outside the immediate area.

How important is the skills agenda in addressing this problem?

It’s critical, which is why we accord it such a priority within the Agency. The Regeneris study provides a sobering assessment of the challenges faced by the region. Here in the Northwest we have 120,000 more people with no qualifications and 80,000 fewer people with graduate level skills in working age population than

the English average, although there are welcome signs the gap is significantly closing. Moving better skilled people up the employment ladder obviously leaves room for more people at the lower end but those seeking work need the basic skills to compete for these jobs.

They are just some of the challenges facing the new employer-led Regional Skills Partnership which the Agency is now coordinating.

Is the region attracting the right kind of jobs? What influence does job quality have on our overall economic performance?

There are some interesting findings around this issue. Up to half of the true productivity gap of £10 billion may be accounted for by the fact that we have more part-time working in the Northwest than elsewhere. Whilst the region has gained 150,000 jobs in the last four years the activity rate has gone up 7% for women but down 3% for men. Many of the jobs recently created are in lower-value occupations especially compared with the South East. This presents us with a particular challenge for the future.

What are the other impediments to realising the region’s wealth generating potential?

One of the current challenges is how to stimulate productivity in business services. A striking feature of the study is just how much this sector contributes to the output gap - up to £4 billion in fact.

This appears to be related to the region’s skills base and the nature of markets served. In contrast, manufacturing performs well, certainly as good as other regions and in some sectors even better. Given the Agency’s strong support for manufacturing we are pleased with the findings, but not complacent given the future global challenges to the region’s manufacturing base.

Much work has been done to embed enterprise in the regional psyche and position the Northwest as a major player in the ‘knowledge’ economy. How well are we doing?

The region is making steady progress in closing the enterprise gap but there is still much ground to conquer. Study figures suggest we

have 20% fewer businesses and less start-ups per head compared to the England average. To mirror national levels we would need to create 40,000 more businesses. It’s a similar picture in the ‘knowledge’ industries. We have 90,000 too few people working in these sectors compared with the England average but there are plenty of opportunities on which to build. The development of Manchester as a ‘Knowledge Capital’ and our continued support for the science and innovation agenda will greatly assist.

What comfort do you draw from this latest economic diagnosis?

There are lots of positive messages from the last three years. Greater Merseyside appears to have turned a corner with recent strong economic growth, there has been an incredibly strong performance in the southern part of Greater Manchester and Cheshire/Warrington is continuing to grow above average national levels. There can be no doubt that in overall terms the regional economy is much stronger than three years ago, but there is considerable work to do - particularly in Cumbria and East Lancashire.

How do the next stages of the RES review process unfold?

We have communicated the Issues Report to 4,000 organisations.

Based on the feedback from these stakeholders we will work with the Advisory Group to produce a draft RES which will become available from July 1st. It will then be subject to three months of full public consultation before being signed off by the Agency in November. It will be handed to Ministers in December and should be approved in time for a launch in March 2006.

This consultation will be open, inclusive and is geared to having a real discussion about the region’s economic drivers and priorities.

It will not be a ‘tick box’ stage-managed approach. This is not the style or approach I like. It really is important that we have a serious discussion on the region’s socio-economic priorities and possible solutions. If we do what we have always done we’ll get what we’ve always got.

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New discoveries

News

enhance region’s bioscience status Scientists across the region are forging ahead with revolutionary advances in healthcare treatment thanks to an upsurge of investment in research, incubation facilities and support services.

Amongst the most promising breakthroughs flowing from the new generation of Northwest-based biotechnology companies are drugs to prevent scarring, tissue repair therapies, vaccines to treat hypertension, medical foods and biopesticides for use in farming.

The pipeline of new medicines, agro products and diagnostic devices is expected to dramatically increase as new infrastructure facilities come on stream in the next 12 months, enhancing the region’s international status as a centre of bioscience excellence.

Some projects like the £26 million Core Technology Facility (CTF) in Manchester’s booming medical corridor, due to open in early 2006, will relieve accommodation pressure on the nearly-full main incubator building by offering a further 173,000 sq ft (16,060 sq m) of flexi-lab, incubator and ‘grow-on’ space.

Discovery companies wishing to progress to small batch manufacture of biopharmaceutical medicines for early-stage clinical trials will be able to call on the expertise of the £34 million National Biomanufacturing Centre (NBC). It also becomes operational early next year.

Topped out in March, the 41,000 sq ft (4,000 sq m) development on the Estuary Business Park, Speke, is expected to cut the time it takes to get drugs into commercial production. AMEC are building the plant and Eden Biodesign will operate it.

A new fund of nearly £3 million, managed and administered by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, has been launched to help small and medium size biotechnology companies exploit the services of the new facility. More than half of the NBC Access Fund will be reserved for Merseyside SMEs. Recent export figures underline the critical importance of bioscience to the local economy. In 2004 the Northwest became the leading UK region for pharmaceutical exports notching up overseas sales of £3.4 billion.

The NWDA has invested heavily in the biotechnology sector through its support for the BIONOW cluster development initiative and its pivotal funding of big-ticket projects like the NBC (£15 million), CTF (£11 million), the now complete Genetics Knowledge Park (£1.7 million) and the North West Institute for Biohealth Informatics (£1.6 million).

Although the bio-industry covers a wide spectrum of activity from start-ups to big pharmaceuticals, the NWDA’s main effort is directed at supporting the small corporate end of the market.

“Our strategy is to continue supporting indigenous growth by offering grants, advice, signposting and building supply-chain relationships with bigger companies,” says Dr Linda Magee, Head of BIONOW. “We can’t rely on inward investment so we must create the best environment to help local companies become successful.”

BIONOW claims to have made important progress in raising the region’s bioscience profile both overseas and at national government level since it was established in 2000. It will have another opportunity to market the sector’s expertise when the Second Annual Bioprocess UK Conference is held in Liverpool in November.

The region’s two biotechnology incubators in Manchester and Liverpool have nurtured about 20 companies with more on the way.

These corporate nurseries play a major part in getting start-ups out into the wider commercial world, stresses Dr. Magee. “It is not an easy activity but we must continue to support incubation in spite of the risks associated with new start-ups. If you are risk averse you will never get your new medicines.”

Although the sector is a particular problem for the venture capital market investors have provided substantial backing for a number of Manchester incubator start-ups.

Renovo, which is currently undertaking second-stage trials with wound healing therapies, has attracted venture capital of £31 million whilst Intercytex has secured £11 million to help develop tissue repair therapies.

It now has larger premises atWythenshawe where it employs 40 people.

Translating research into world-beating products can bring huge rewards. Projected annual sales for wound healing drugs alone are one to two billion dollars, according to Renovo Chief Executive Mark Ferguson. He has seen his company grow to 90 employees, many of them graduates.

“The biggest challenge is to have big success. There is nothing between success and failure,” he says. Lack of interest in the sector by property developers is a real cause for concern. “We have to demonstrate with the Core Technology Facility that the private sector can make money out of this sort of project,” comments Professor Ferguson.

For further information: www.bionow.co.uk www.biomanufacturing.co.uk Contact: Dr Linda Magee 01925 400100

Safe harbour for bio start-ups Health foods based on plant extracts are opening up new business opportunities for research scientists and bio-entrepreneurs on Merseyside.

Provexis, a new biotechnology company based in the MerseyBIO incubator, has teamed up with Professor Jonathon Rhodes in the University of Liverpool’s Department of Medicine to develop a medical product for the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

Professor Rhodes found that soluble fibre extracted from plantain bananas has the potential to prevent inflammatory episodes of IBD and Crohn’s Disease. Provexis is now using its expertise in consolidating bioactive components found in plants to commercialise the discovery.

“This is an exciting collaboration as it enables us to expand our product portfolio and build a new relationship with a world-class research team,” explains Provexis Chief Executive Dr Steve Franklin.

His company is also developing a special fruit drink for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Located in the university’s £23 million Liverpool Biosciences Centre, the two-year-old MerseyBIO incubator has nurtured a number of high growth companies by providing a purpose built environment and specialist support to help young biotechnology companies through the difficult start-up period.

Dr Martino Picardo describes incubators as “safe harbours” for fledgling enterprises. He manages the highly successful 86,000 sq ft (9,320 sq m) Manchester Incubator Building currently home to eight companies - and says there is “a real demand” for space.

He describes the five-year-old facility as the “benchmark” for other countries and other incubators, stressing that incubators don’t compete with each other. “We are all developing different business models related to our own individual environments.”

For further information: www.merseybio.com

Vauxhall is to receive grant aid of £1.9 million from the NWDA towards a new £15 million press shop installation at its Ellesmere Port car manufacturing plant, home of the Astra and Vectra models. The investment will safeguard 194 jobs and is part of a company strategy to reduce the volume of parts transported between sites...

Bryan Gray has been reappointed as Chairman of the NWDA until December 2008. He first took up the appointment on April 1st 2002...

The NWDA is part-funding a £5 million investment by Blackburn-based MDA that will create up to 260 jobs over the next two years. Future business expansion will be supported by a newly opened £3.7 million cubic metre warehousing facility at its Mill Hill headquarters...

Training support in the region’s car, truck and bus industries received a boost with the March opening of a Northwest spoke of the national Automotive Academy.

It will be hosted by the Northwest Automotive Alliance (NAA), the NWDA’s cluster organisation for the sector...

Patricia Hewitt, the former Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, visited Lancaster University to perform the official opening of Infolab21, the university’s new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Centre. The project received financial support of £10 million from the NWDA to establish a world class Centre of Excellence for research, development and commercialisation of ICT...

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Corporate nursery Daresbury Innovation Centre Hot gossip Employee interaction sparks new ideas

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Daresbury aims to close North-South science gap Major investment in new specialist research, innovation and technologytransfer facilities on the Daresbury science campus is providing a powerful new stimulus for knowledge-based business enterprise within the region.

Concern over the future of the site following the loss of the £600 million Diamond Synchrotron project to Oxford has given way to a surge of optimism as new companies and research institutes move on to new Daresbury International Science and Technology Park (DISTP).

Several key developments within recent months have underlined Daresbury’s potential as a research-enterprise hothouse. The latest is the opening of the Daresbury Innovation Centre, a 30,000 sq ft (2,790 sq m) building providing space and business back-up for a wide spectrum of enterprises from start-ups to blue-chip companies.

Centre Manager Dr Paul Treloar is aiming to attract up to a dozen tenants in the first year with young high technology companies as the main target. Apart from state of the art office, workshop and lab space the centre is offering tailored support from accountancy to Intellectual Property expertise.

“ The core of our philosophy,” he says, “is getting expertise injected into fledgling businesses in a high impact way to get them ready for the investment that will put them on a strong growth trajectory.”

He expects some of that investment will come from regional sources such as the North West Seed Fund and Rising Stars Growth Fund.

Dr Treloar is well versed in the art of technology transfer. He has

a research background in sensor technology and ten years of start-up experience that at the time involved commercialising the largest Intellectual Property portfolio at the former University of Manchester.

He has already signed up two strongly developing technology businesses and others, including a blue-chip corporation, are in the pipeline. Medical Device Innovations Ltd, which is developing new medical device technologies, is the first to take up residence along with Instrument Design Technology, a precision engineering company set up by scientists who trained at Daresbury.

The Daresbury Laboratory is very much part of the enterprise equation, stresses Dr Treloar, “It’s a strong brand across the global scientific community and this is what is pulling in overseas interest.

Wherever we can we will develop synergies with the Laboratory.”

Work is well advanced at Daresbury on a £13 million prototype for a revolutionary new light source (4GLS) that will allow scientists to develop the next generation of computers, medicines and catalysts.

Alongside this, the Northwest Regional Development Agency has funded the Innovation Centre and has provided the land and building for the Cockcroft Institute, the national Centre for Accelerator Science.

Four other plots at Daresbury remain to be developed, each providing 30,000 sq ft (2,790 sq m) of space for science-based organisations. “Total Agency investment developing DISTP will

be £50 million over eight years with the private sector hopefully investing as much again,” explains Dr George Baxter, the NWDA’s Head of Science and Innovation.

A joint venture company limited by guarantee will be established to run DISTP. Partners include the NWDA, the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC), who run the Daresbury Laboratory, Halton Borough Council, and the universities of Manchester, Liverpool and Lancaster.

Dr Linda Magee, Head of the NWDA’s BIONOW cluster organisation, has been appointed as the company’s business development director. Her role will be to attract technology spin-outs and spin-ins and encourage big science investment from government, research bodies, charities, universities and industry.

Dr Baxter believes Daresbury can help to narrow the North-South divide in publicly funded science investment. “Only 3% of the estimated £2.5 billion the government invests in science comes to the Northwest. In the South East and London the figure is nearer 60%. This site has the capacity to take big facilities.”

He is particularly keen to promote collaboration between the region’s research-intensive universities and believes Daresbury’s “neutral” location will encourage that.

The NWDA’s commitment to fund big science-led projects has been reinforced by the creation of the £15 million Northwest Science Fund. Project bids are currently being assessed and the winners will be announced shortly.

Spread over three years, the awards are aimed at supporting the commercialisation of promising technologies that are not yet ready for the venture capital market. Each of the projects will have a strong industrial-academia dimension.

For further information www.daresburyinnovation.co.uk Contact: Dr George Baxter 01925 400100 Dr Paul Treloar 01925 607005

Synchrotron shines new light on enterprise Medicine is on the threshold of a new 60-second desktop cholesterol test that will help doctors detect early signs of coronary artery disease in their patients.

Developed by L3 Technology Ltd (L3T), a two-year old spin-out from Daresbury Laboratory, the revolutionary diagnostic and monitoring procedure is the brainchild of Professor Gareth Jones in the Synchrotron Department.

L3T’s test can give an almost instant reading of good and bad cholesterol from a pinprick of blood with an accuracy that is claimed to be better than the best laboratories. Over-the-counter tests normally take a minimum of three days to produce the same data.

A consortium of Northwest fund investors has confirmed its confidence in the company’s commercial promise by investing £1 million to help L3T develop a cartridge and small desktop analyser using fluorescent marker and software technology.

“The technology is outstanding and has great potential,” explains Chris Pickles, Business Development Manager with the Central Laboratory Innovation and Knowledge Transfer (CLIK), the trading arm of CCLRC. CLIK is responsible for commercialising the advanced technologies being developed at CCLRC’s Daresbury and Rutherford Appleton Laboratories, either through start-ups or licensing agreements. It is expected that some of the Daresbury start-ups will move across the campus to the Innovation Centre.

Some scientists are “very evangelistic” when it comes to enterprise, observes Pickles. Some have no interest whatsoever.

“Not all scientists want to set up companies. Some academics are not motivated to make money. We work with the willing and are very busy.”

CLIK has worked on over 50 commercial projects and is actively managing 25 across the two sites. Three of the five spin outs it has helped nurture exploit Intellectual Property generated at Daresbury.

The 550 scientists and technicians employed at the Cheshire facility recently received encouraging news when the Office of Science and Technology announced that it would continue to fund the synchrotron until the end of 2008.

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Agency leads action to help flood victims 1

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Border attraction Carlisle Castle Photography by Ben Barden

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Café society Citizens relax over coffee

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Safety barrier Thorp storage pond, Sellafield Nuclear expertise Operations at Sellafield high level plant

Emergency services and other help organisations rallied to the cause when heavy rain and swollen rivers overwhelmed Carlisle’s defences flooding over 1,900 homes, schools and businesses.

In a response to the January crisis the Northwest Regional Development Agency moved quickly to help those local businesses hit by not just the floods but the storms and power cuts which affected communities from Appleby to Cockermouth and Kendal to Keswick.

In Carlisle, the area most affected by the 36-hour deluge, the floods were the worst recorded since 1822. The gales also felled 2,000 hectares of Cumbrian woodland (half a million trees) in just 10 minutes, costing the Forestry Commission £100,000.

Small boats manned by HM Coastguard crews sailed through the suburban streets to rescue residents as they climbed out of upstairs windows.

Ambulances were left stranded and two elderly women drowned in their own homes.

At the McVitie factory in Carlisle’s Caldewgate, the city’s largest employer with a 1,100-strong workforce, some production staff were trapped upstairs by seven feet of water and had to wait to be rescued.

After visiting the stricken plant and nearby small businesses shortly after the flooding, NWDA Chief Executive Steven Broomhead said he was “extremely shocked” at the damage.

Pledging £200,000 to help small businesses with specialist advice, the Agency also established an interest relief scheme to help finance short-term loans. Another £50,000 of NWDA cash financed a “Carlisle, open for business” publicity campaign to support the tourist industry and retailers.

Acting promptly, Aileen Sykes of the NWDA Business Support Team helped to assemble a Cumbria Business Recovery Group. Members contacted more than 500 businesses and visited more than 290 to establish the impact of the damage, advise on help available and distribute a disaster recovery guide.

A Business Link information line was set up and took calls from 250 directly affected businesses.

Practical questions on how to approach the clean up, information on temporary accommodation and help with IT problems were the most common issues, says Aileen.

The power cut revealed the extent to which even the smallest businesses now rely on IT. Bed and breakfast establishments, which take bookings over the Internet, suddenly found themselves cut off from potential customers.

“Companies that stored back-up for their systems on-site found that the floodwater made the tapes unusable, even if they were locked in a safe,” points out Aileen. Business people in need of a computer terminal were offered the use of equipment and temporary refuge at the Learn Direct suite at Business Link’s Carlisle office.

Despite all the problems, businesses showed great determination to overcome them, says Aileen.

“The attitude generally has been a very positive one. People said: ‘It’s happened. Let’s roll up our sleeves and concentrate on recovering from it as best we can’ .”

Carlisle’s flood defences remained intact and were left largely undamaged but were simply swamped by the volume of water from the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petterill.

The Environment Agency is reviewing its £20 million improvement scheme for the Warwick Road area to see whether more flood protection can be built into the project. The scheme is due to begin in May 2006. This year the government will invest £500 million on flood and coastal defence in the region.

For further information: www.cumbriabusinesslink.co.uk Contact: Aileen Sykes 01768 867294

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Gunning for glory New investment in specialised manufacturing technologies is providing a significant boost for Cumbria’s nuclear and defence industries.

Hot on the heels of Gravatom Engineering Systems’ decision to build a new factory at Workington to exploit opportunities in nuclear decommissioning comes news that BAE Land Systems at Barrow has landed a contract to build 495 ultra-light howitzers for the US Army and Marine Corps.

Both ventures have received direct or indirect support from the Northwest Regional Development Agency as part of its commitment to help companies in Cumbria improve their competitiveness and productivity.

Hampshire-based Gravatom is creating 30 new jobs in Workington by building a £500,000 factory on the St Helen’s Business Park with a £200,000 Selective Finance for Investment in England (SFI) grant from the NWDA, secured with support from the West Cumbria Development Agency.

Managing Director Dave Barker is proud of the way his company has bucked the trend in manufacturing investment in the UK. “With the addition of the new factory in Cumbria, we believe

we are ideally placed for the nuclear future.”

The factory will be named the John Dalton Building after the Cumberland-born chemist whose research into glass enabled him to pioneer atomic theory in the early 1800s.

The NWDA has also been instrumental in securing SFI support to help Kimberley-Clark secure additional expansion land at its Barrow paper mill. The funding will enable the company to remove two pylons located close to the facility and transfer the electricity supply underground freeing up space for new production capacity.

Kimberly-Clark expect the new building extension to be complete in summer 2007 securing the jobs of people employed on the Andrex production line.

BAE Land Systems’ howitzer deal underlines the importance of developing key skills in Cumbria. The M777 gun is partly constructed from titanium and the NWDA provided assistance for training at Furness College, which helped make the BAE workforce world leaders in welding the metal.

News

Mark Hughes joins the NWDA as Executive Director of Enterprise and Innovation. He has previously held the posts of Director at DTZ Pieda Consulting and Executive Consultant with Ernst & Young...

Software and consultancy company Red Eye has been awarded £95,000 by the NWDA under the Selective Finance for Investment in England (SFI) scheme to relocate its technical services operation from London to Crewe Business Park. The company is a renowned pioneer in the market of Electronic Customer Relations Management (eCRM)...

Business support projects delivered by the Manufacturing Advisory Service, a DTI and NWDAbacked initiative run by The Manufacturing Institute, have generated productivity gains worth £36 million to Northwest companies since the service started in April 2002, against a target of £12 million...

Neville Chamberlain, former Chief Executive of British Nuclear Fuels and currently chairman of URENCO, is the new Chair of the Cheshire and Warrington Economic Alliance.

He succeeds David Gartside, who has taken up a new global appointment with AstraZeneca...

Five hundred manufacturers from across the region are expected to attend a major conference, “In Pursuit of Manufacturing Excellence”, at Bolton’s Reebok Stadium on June 28. The event is being held by the Manufacturing Advisory Service North West, supported by the NWDA...

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Today, only about half of the 6,000 miles of canal built during the Industrial Revolution remain, but they are making a comeback, with a new role at the heart of the regeneration process that is as much social as it is commercial, as much environmental as it is economic.

“We’ve been restoring and creating waterways for the past five years at a faster rate than they were originally built,” explains Derek Cochrane, Managing Director of Northern Waterways. “Water has become the focus for regeneration because it brings animation and vitality.”

Since 1999, British Waterways has spent over £75 million in the Northwest, on projects such as the Ribble Link, which opened in 2002 as the UK’s first new canal for 100 years.

But its role goes far deeper than the upkeep of canals and together with partners like the Northwest Regional Development Agency, local authorities and English Partnerships, it is helping to create a regeneration master plan that ensures the waterscape and the landscape work in harmony.

“If you just create an isolated water space, ultimately it will be degraded and clogged up with litter and waste, and then there’s no reason to look after it,” says Cochrane. “Something created as a pastiche doesn’t work, it has to have a role and then it becomes a focus for regeneration.”

Three restoration dramas are currently playing across the region and all demonstrate the wider role of well-designed water corridors.

The Northern Reaches is a multi-million pound project that will re-open 14 miles of the Lancaster Canal, boosting tourism and eventually allowing boats to travel from the southern tip of the Lake District through Liverpool, and over the Pennines into York and beyond.

Rural Regeneration Cumbria, an organisation established and funded by the NWDA, is contributing £325,000 to the £750,000 first phase, which focuses on the area around Kendal.

The second project is the £15.5 million Liverpool Canal Link, which will allow boats to cruise from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and across the Pier Head in front of the world-famous waterfront.

The link will create opportunities for increased investment along the whole canal corridor through West Lancashire, Sefton and North Liverpool.

New schemes exploit canals heritage They were the motorways of their time, great trade and communication arteries that connected the ports to the towns, and the countryside to the cities.

But the restoration of the Northwest’s canal network is not an invitation to developers to build along every towpath or canal-side green space. A nodal approach has been adopted, with centres of activity developed where economic advantages can be maximised.

These are partly the towns and cities that grew up on the banks of canals, but also villages where rural diversification can help create new employment and wealth, while retaining the characteristics of the countryside.

“These development projects provide unique recreational resources, but also deliver significant economic and educational benefits to the region’s local communities,” says Helen France, Executive Director of Development and Partnerships at the NWDA. The Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal is the last major waterway in Greater Manchester to be restored, with the NWDA contributing £1.1 million to the £4.2 million first phase. This takes in a 500 metre stretch of canal that will reconnect with the River Irwell across the massive £300 million commercial development at Middlewood in Salford.

“What is fantastic,” explains Cochrane, “is that the scheme has been designed holistically with the landscape, the proposed new buildings, their architecture and the overall urban design all being completed to a wider master plan.”

This ensures Salford gains the maximum economic benefit, he continues, but by recognising that the space around the water matters as much as the water itself, helps ensures social and environmental gains as well.

“Waterspace can be wonderful but it can also be dead,” he says.

“If the public realm is not of the highest quality then you can spend as much as you like but you will not attract investors, or people to live, work or play there. Sustainability is the key, so that it not only looks great on the day it opens, but 50 years afterwards too.”

For further information: www.britishwaterways.co.uk www.waterscape.com

Cruising to success Canalside nightlife Deansgate Locks, Central Manchester

For John Lund, the Huddersfield Narrow Canal has always been a passion. Running for 20 miles from the Portland Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne through the Pennines to Huddersfield, the canal was reopened in 2001 thanks to the work of local enthusiasts and around £30 million from the Millennium Commission and English Partnerships.

Since then, Lund’s Saddleworth Canal cruises have gone from strength to strength. He has diversified into boat hire and offers space for waterborne meetings and wedding receptions.

“It’s nice to see a piece of heritage that is yours and mine being brought back to life,” he says.

Before the restoration Lund was only able to navigate a small stretch of canal that had not been filled in. But along with other businesses he risked money and time in the restoration work and the promise of better times.

While he welcomes the new life that the renovation has brought, he also believes it is important not to forget that the canals were originally built for work.

“We have to remember that they are not there as locations for pretty houses and wine bars. We shouldn’t forget the heritage side of things,” he says.

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Summit showcase for new urbanism

The Northern Way moves into action

New approaches to urban renewal, many of them tried and tested in the Northwest, won showcase status when 2,000 delegates from as far away as China and Australia converged on Manchester for the ‘Delivering Sustainable Communities’ Summit.

The physical renaissance underway across the region was given further impetus when Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott used a keynote conference speech to announce the establishment of Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs) for Blackpool and Central Salford.

The Northwest Regional Development Agency is a main funding partner in both ventures alongside each local authority. Planning expert Sir Peter Hall will Chair the Blackpool board with broadcaster Felicity Goodey providing the strategic leadership at Salford.

In a further move to support the region-wide renewal process, NWDA Chief Executive Steven Broomhead launched RENEW, a new initiative led by Director Phil Barton, to make the Northwest a beacon of regeneration excellence.

Blackpool had further cause for celebration at the summit when the Grange Park Community Project was named as the overall winner of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Award for Sustainable Communities 2004.

Located in one of Britain’s most deprived wards, the once run-down isolated estate has turned its back on high levels of unemployment, crime, antisocial behaviour and environmental dereliction, thanks to a coordinated strategy led by Blackpool Council, residents and service providers.

There was more good news for Salford when the local Albion Residents Group won the accolade as national public space champions for its efforts to tidy up the estate. The £6,000 prize in the inaugural government-sponsored ‘A Picture of Change’ competition will be used to tackle graffiti with a large mural.

Delegates to the two-day summit and exhibition

at the Bridgewater Hall and GMEX - two icons of Manchester’s central area vitality - heard John Prescott talk about creating “strong and sustainable communities that will stand the test of time.”

Sustainability, he disclosed, would be a core principle of the planning system and had been written into a new buildings code aimed at using less land, less waste, less energy and less water. The code is currently being piloted in the Thames Gateway.

He singled out the work of the NWDA and the other eight Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) for special acclaim for transforming England’s towns and cities, and he highlighted the different approach to jobs and growth being taken by The Northern Way venture.

Senior ministers attending the summit included Home Secretary Charles Clarke, Education Secretary Ruth Kelly and Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett. Chancellor Gordon Brown delivered a prerecorded video message owing to his visit to China.

Other prominent speakers included London Mayor Ken Livingstone, Richard Daley (Mayor of Chicago), Danita Hubner (European Commissioner for Regional Policy), Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen and Donald Johnson (Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development).

Civic leaders and regeneration professionals used more than 60 plenary sessions, workshops and masterclasses to share experiences, debate policy and test out the latest theories on new urbanism.

For further information: www.renew.co.uk Contact: Phil Barton 0151 703 0135

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Showcase city Manchester reborn Community action Grange Park Project

Fresh measures are underway to reduce the £29 billion output gap between the North and the South. One of the first targets will be to unlock the employment potential of thousands of people on long-term incapacity benefit.

Another element of the 20 year growth strategy will see the Northwest hosting an academy to develop leadership skills in the public, private and voluntary sectors, a project that will build on expertise currently available within the region’s universities and business schools.

The new schemes represent early action in delivering The Northern Way, a unique collaborative venture by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward and ONE NorthEast to raise the productivity performance of the North to match Britain’s more prosperous regions.

This new approach to wealth creation was given national spotlight at the ‘Delivering Sustainable Communities’ Summit in Manchester in February when the Deputy Prime Minister announced the first £10 million investment to kickstart the process.

The three northern RDAs used the occasion to launch ‘The Northern Way Action Plan: Progress Report’, hailed by John Prescott as “a major milestone in our efforts to close the North-South prosperity gap”. It identified a number of priority measures including: > Development of ‘Science City’ proposals based on Manchester, York and Newcastle > Three private-led manufacturing development projects in chemicals, advanced engineering and defence > Two key pan-regional projects aimed at bringing more women into enterprise and giving a flying start to graduates > Developing the economic case for more transport investment > Better marketing of the North’s assets and business potential to overseas investors

Northern Way Chairman Sir Graham Hall said “a paradigm shift” was needed to boost North of England output to the national average. Closing the gap “would also help UK plcs and start to take some of the pressure off the South East.”

The NWDA and its partners have now moved beyond the planning stage by appointing Vince Taylor, former Director of the Sheffield First Partnership, as The Northern Way’s Director of Implementation. He will head up a small secretariat based in Newcastle which will work closely with the RDAs and other partners.

Three flagship projects are also in the pipeline.

A National Academy for Sustainable Skills is to be established in Leeds with the Northwest and North East hosting academies/centres of excellence in leadership and manufacturing design respectively.

John Prescott has also announced that the first £10 million from the £100 million Northern Way Growth Fund is to be invested in innovative projects that will help meet the North’s target of bringing 100,000 people back into work by 2014.

Nick Gerrard, NWDA Head of Policy and Performance who coordinates the Agency’s input into The Northern Way process, is encouraged by the “significant” support being committed to the initiative by the Treasury, ODPM, and other government departments.

“There is now a real window of opportunity to start closing the prosperity gap. All the signs are good,” he says.

For further information: www.thenorthernway.co.uk Contact: Nick Gerrard 01925 400100

News

The NWDA is providing £4 million to fund shell repair works at the heritage-rich Longlands Mill complex in Stalybridge prior to its redevelopment by award winning developer Urban Splash.

The project is expected to act as a regeneration catalyst for West Stalybridge...

Lancaster City Council has chosen joint venture partners CTP Ltd and Development Securities as lead developers of the £60 million Luneside project. The NWDA is contributing £3.7 million of the £12.5 million public sector investment in the 6.5 hectare site...

Work has started on converting Liverpool’s Tithebarn Street to a two-way road with improved facilities for cyclists, bus users and pedestrians. The £3.1 million scheme has attracted £2 million of NWDA funding...

Compulsory Purchase Order approval has been granted for the St Petersfield scheme in Ashton-under-Lyne, paving the way for demolition and construction to begin on the £60 million new business district scheme in the summer. The NWDA is a joint funding and development partner with English Partnerships and Ask Developments...

Development of the Kings Waterfront site in Liverpool as a visitor destination of international quality will start in June following the EU’s decision to invest £46 million of Objective One funding in the project, which is a joint venture between the NWDA, Liverpool City Council and English Partnerships...

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University packs a killer punch 1

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Social hub Students Union bar Top man Professor Michael Brown, Vice-Chancellor LJMU Academic powerhouse LJMU’s campus boasts a mix of architectural styles

When Professor Michael Brown arrived in Liverpool five years ago to take up the post of Vice-Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) he found the city without one very important economic asset a science park.

With academics at LJMU and the University of Liverpool becoming more focused on commercial exploitation of their ideas, he persuaded the Northwest Regional Development Agency to fund a feasibility study into this.

It found there was potentially enough demand for at least 300,000 sq ft (27,600 sq m) of science park space and the campus support that goes with it. Since then the project has moved from vision to reality with Liverpool City Council and the two universities forming a company to run Liverpool Science Park, funded by the NWDA. The joint venture reaches a notable milestone in July when the first facility, a new NWDA and Objective 1-funded incubator building, opens for business on a site by the steps of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.

LJMU’s Vice-Chancellor, who chairs the science park company, is bullish about the park’s future prospects. “The demand we can see coming out of the universities is now probably three times more than the assessment used to plan the park so we have no doubt that it will be a great success.”

He has also been influential in establishing a £25 million seed corn and proof of concept fund with European Objective 1 money to help inventors and companies test an idea in the laboratory or in the workplace and scale up to the commercial level.

A former physicist and electrical engineer, Professor Brown is no stranger to academic enterprise having been previously involved in running Loughborough Consultants Ltd (including its Science Park and commercial operations) and Intellectual Property exploitation at De Montfort University.

A prime aim of Liverpool Science Park is to spin-out and attract in the high quality companies that will keep more graduate talent on Merseyside. “At the moment there are not the jobs - that’s why students drift away. You have to create the right jobs for them to stay,” explains the Vice-Chancellor.

LJMU is having a good shot at doing just that. It is one of the top ten universities for spinning out companies (18 in the past two years).

Research income - a trigger for academic enterprise - is rising 40% a year and, when combined with other external funding, accounts for £20 million, a fifth of turnover.

“We are growing tremendously fast and we are catching up on many of the so-called research dominant universities,”enthuses the Vice-Chancellor who expects 85% of academic staff to be pursuing research by 2008.

LJMU excels in Sports and Exercise Science, scoring the highest 5* rating in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, and boasts research excellence in General Engineering, Astrophysics, History, English and subjects allied to Medicine. It is also the leading UK university for funding in emerging research disciplines such as Art and Design, Nursing, Social Work and Communication, Media and Cultural Studies.

LJMU is planning to invest £80 million across its campus over 5 years to improve facilities for its 24,000 students. Two of the new infrastructure projects - a Design Academy (£21 million) and a Digital Academy (£20 million) - have a strong resonance with the new industries being developed on Merseyside.

Professor Brown believes the Design Academy will reinforce Liverpool’s status as a Capital of Culture. He expects Rick Mather Architects, the firm chosen to design the Academy, to deliver an “inspirational” building that will regenerate a neglected, disconnected area close to the Metropolitan Cathedral.

The Digital Academy is a three-stage project with the International Centre for Digital Content (ICDC) and a digital incubator at its core. The Centre has prepared for expansion by relocating to Edge Lane with the help of a £3.9 million NWDA grant.

Professor Brown has a clear view that LJMU’s mission is “to produce graduates with the killer skills that will give them the edge over other graduates from across the country.”

His whole ethos is to establish the university as a “progressive, forward-looking institution very closely related to the real world and using the latest management techniques to manage ourselves.”

This pursuit of excellence in Higher Education (HE) management has manifested itself in better customer service, less time wasting and more focus and is now a defining virtue of LJMU, suggests the Vice-Chancellor.

In the seminal Lambert Report on the interaction between academia and business, the university was cited for its best practice in management, leadership and industry-HE links. As Professor Brown explains: “Other universities are now implementing the sorts of things we have already done.”

For further information www.ljmu.ac.uk Contact: Business Development Centre 0500 876 543

Spinout focuses on expansion Robotic telescopes developed by Liverpool John Moores University are helping astronomers probe the secrets of the universe without them having to be anywhere near the far-flung observatories.

Four of the £2.5 million telescopes are operating in La Palma, India, Hawaii and Australia with a slightly larger fifth one awaiting shipment to an observatory in Yunnan Province in China.

Telescope Technologies Ltd (TTL), a university spinout company, designs and assembles the instruments in its workshops at Twelve Quays, Birkenhead, alongside LJMU’s Astrophysics Research Institute, which controls three of the unmanned instruments.

“In the old days an astronomer had to travel half way round the world to do his observing only to find the sky obscured by cloud,” explains Managing Director Tony Fox-Leonard. “Now

we can do a night view from any of these telescopes without moving from Liverpool.”

TTL is currently chasing orders in Thailand, the US and the Middle East for a further eight instruments, which are enshrined in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest robotic telescopes in the world.

Expertise gained in designing and building the 25-30-ton telescopes - all the components are bought off the shelf - has

helped the 25-strong company diversify into engineering consultancy.

Fox-Leonard likens the telescopes to a precision engineering tool with accuracy 10-15 times better than anything on the market. “This expertise allows us to build large, very precise pieces of equipment.”

The company is now seeking to establish strategic relationships with global companies like BAE Systems.

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Schools drive to ease skills shortage

Brainy idea wins royal approval

Businesses and schools in South Cheshire are finding common ground in an imaginative centre of excellence project to address skills shortages in local engineering and manufacturing industries.

When Prince Charles announced to the press after his wedding that his favourite gift had been a book of photographs from farmers in Cumbria, few would have known that the contents had been created by a European IT initiative run by the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

One outcome of the £1 million AXIS initiative, funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, is an impressive rise in the number of pupils taking GCSE engineering courses and a doubling in the number of schools offering related subjects.

The creation of a virtual centre for engineering solutions was triggered by VW’s decision to invest £500 million in new production facilities at Bentley Motors, Crewe, paving the way for the launch of the successful Continental GT model.

AXIS has since moved into a second phase of NWDA funding (£330,000) to support skills training in small companies engaged in engineering and manufacture in Cheshire and Warrington and to widen the project team’s work in schools.

The scheme fulfils many of the ideals being fostered by the Sector Skills Council (SSCs), new organisations where business, education and training providers come together to plan and shape current and future workforce needs in specific industries.

Run by a small team of education specialists with teaching experience in Design Technology and Engineering, AXIS has been particularly successful in influencing course provision and encouraging the introduction of dual award vocational GCSEs in Engineering and Manufacturing.

They have also produced useful teaching resources for Key Stages 1-4 and A-level, covering activities as varied as food technology, graphic products, product design and engineering.

One of the newest CD-ROMs is on engine assembly for the Bentley Continental GT. The team is active in both primary and secondary schools with a long-term aim of improving the image of careers in engineering and manufacture. “We are well aware that developing an enthusiasm for these subject areas needs to be encouraged from an early age”, says Project Manager John Stead.

AXIS has organised school visits into businesses to see industrial processes, supported teacher training courses in areas such as pneumatics at primary level and ‘moving toys’ and ‘controllable vehicles’, and encouraged heads of departments in secondary schools to share best practice.

Using digital camera skills acquired through the £3.4 million NW BRAIN programme, farmers and their wives put together a pictorial record of rural life complete with 1,180 signatures wishing Charles and Camilla well in their marriage.

Ann Risman, Voluntary Coordinator of the Pentalk Network, which helped train the farmers, says as well as producing practical benefits for farm businesses the ‘Digital Imaging in Agriculture’ project has brought out the artistic side of farmers.

“Some of the work has been outstanding and will be used to produce a 2006 calendar,” says Ann. NW BRAIN (Building Regional Applications and Innovative Networks) is co-funded by the EU’s Innovative Actions Programme and the NWDA, and aims to break down the ‘digital divide’ by encouraging IT use by ‘hard to reach’ groups and small companies (SMEs).

An ex college Principal with an OBE for her community work in Cumbria, Ann was attracted to the NW BRAIN initiative because it deliberately asked for new ideas and experimentation.

In Pentalk’s case she and her team focused on a particular technology - digital cameras - to encourage computer usage amongst farmers, her particular target group. Organisers have recruited 2,200 farmers to the one-year project and held 33 training courses.

Skills acquired on these courses can have important commercial, welfare and security applications. Farmers can use digital cameras to keep a pictorial record of farm animals, send e-images to vets and keep a digital inventory of farm equipment.

Stead says there has been a 100% increase in pupils taking GCSE courses in engineering and manufacturing. “There is good evidence to suggest that there are a lot more people in this area interested in engineering and manufacturing careers at all levels.”

Local firms have engaged with AXIS in three ways, allowing the AXIS team to photograph their manufacturing and engineering processes to create CD resources, supporting the delivery of engineering challenge day for schools and taking advantage of the AXIS Awards scheme, which provides grants to SMEs for skills training. This has so far benefited 350 people in 25 companies.

Fran Hulbert, the NWDA’s Director of Skills, says that the bringing together of business support and skills training allows the SSCs to address current and future skill needs through the curriculum. “In Project AXIS the Agency had the foresight four years ago to set up something that does all these things.”

For further information: www.axis-eng.org Contact: Fran Hulbert 01925 644220

Events have been a key tool in heightening awareness of the project. The event that led to the sending of the book to Charles and Camilla was a photography competition held in Carlisle with the winner handed a rosette exactly as in cattle shows.

The £66,000 Pentalk initiative is one of 26 projects funded by the NW BRAIN programme.

In Rochdale, a group of Asian women have been taught how to used advanced sewing machines with Internet access, which has enabled them to download delicate embroidery designs from Bangladesh needed for their dresses.

In Nelson and Colne, a combined group of Asian and white youngsters have been making films about their lives, and on the Wirral a group of people with no qualifications and no credit ratings have been able to undertake Microsoft Accreditation programmes giving them real employment potential.

Lessons learned from these imaginative projects will be used to shape future European mainstream programmes.

Professor Peter Fowler, who has been evaluating the projects, says regional prosperity depends on all sections of the population, especially disadvantaged and hard-to-reach groups, being IT competent.

“NW BRAIN has demonstrated that, with a little imagination and real dedication, it is possible to reach the most reluctant of groups and even brought to the notice, albeit innocently, of the heir to the throne.”

For more information: Lindsay Sharples, NW BRAIN Project Manager 01925 400100

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Broadband investment is regarded as an important tool in the ‘inclusive’ economic regeneration of needy parts of the region. Working with localised Digital Development Agencies (DDAs), the NWDA has developed action plans and investment programmes for each of the five sub-regions.

Broadband revolution gathers speed

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Growing numbers of regional companies and communities are leaping on the Internet bandwagon to connect with increased trading, profitability, training, educational and leisure opportunities.

Two factors are helping the Northwest become a switched-on 24/7 region - the rapid roll-out of a national high-speed infrastructure programme and investment of £30 million by the Northwest Regional Development Agency in broadband provision and programmes to promote greater take-up of the new services.

By September all exchanges in the Northwest will be broadbandenabled and there will be very few areas of the region where affordable broadband will not be a reality.

Cheshire is the region’s most Internet-savvy area with a take-up rate of 20.6%, ahead of the national average of 19.1% and closing in on London (24.6%), according to BT figures.

A Harris Poll of 1,000 Cheshire residents, commissioned by the NWDA-funded broadbandCONNECT initiative, has revealed that Internet usage has increased across all age groups in the county, especially among the 50-70 age group, but 86% of those who access the Internet do so with the dial-up connection.

Greater Merseyside has the lowest take-up rate at 13.8% according to the BT figures, an issue being tackled through a variety of innovative schemes. In the Kensington area of Liverpool, £750,000 of NWDA funding is being used to train and encourage local residents to develop the content for a new digital information channel that will be focused on their area.

The biggest single investment is in Cumbria where the principal challenge is one of access. Remoteness and low population density have caused commercial providers to accord the county low investment priority so the Agency has intervened to address market failure through the £20 million Project ACCESS initiative.

Working with delivery partner Your Communications, the telecommunications arm of United Utilities, the NWDA aims to have broadband services available to 95% of businesses and

homes in Cumbria and North Lancashire by the end of August.

Over the next few months a 12-strong marketing team will be deployed to spread the message about the economic benefits of broadband. The programme will highlight how applications like e-commerce, video conferencing and remote working can fundamentally change the dynamics of a company or organisation.

The relationship between fast, affordable Internet connectivity and improved economic performance cannot be overstated, insists Kevin Morley, the Agency’s Head of ICT Policy. “It can enable individuals to develop new skills to enhance their employment opportunities and help companies become more profitable and efficient,” he says.

Later this summer, the region will have a new evidence-based ICT strategy that will draw on feedback from a survey of 9,000 businesses, 9,000 households and 1,500 public sector organisations. The data collected has been analysed and studied

by Microsoft, IBM, and other key partners across the region.

The new policy will focus on three issues: awareness of the benefits of ICT to businesses and individuals; the skills agenda and harnessing the benefits of ICT. One of the survey findings indicated that while a lot of businesses had installed the technology, they were not getting maximum benefit from it. “The problem now is not one of access but of getting people to use broadband more effectively,” says Morley.

“It is this which will deliver the real ICT revolution.”

For further information: www.bt.com/localbroadband Contact: Kevin Morley 01925 400100

Digital highways to prosperity

Cheshire and Warrington: Emphasis on rural areas with mobile demonstration units equipped with online workstations visiting villages to let local communities try out broadband for themselves.

Investment £2.3 million; take-up 20.6%.

Cumbria: 100 out of 118 exchanges within the Project ACCESS boundary are now broadband enabled. A resilient ring fibre network has been put in place, with a number of wireless broadband access points connected to it, enabling broadband to be delivered to remote areas. Investment £20 million; take-up 17%.

Greater Manchester: Six strands of activity launched under the banner of ‘Manchester Always On’ including one where SMEs can see products in 3D and market their company in virtual space, support for developing connected communities and new broadband products and services aimed directly at Manchester residents. Investment £2.8 million; take-up 15.3%.

Lancashire: A series of broadband and ‘Technology at Work’ events are targeting 700 businesses with specialist advice from IT experts on how to drive up sales, secure new customers and increase profits by online working. Investment £2.7 million; take-up 17.9%.

Merseyside: Activities include a drop-in centre to showcase ICT/broadband applications and services, a broadband fund to support innovative local ideas and a series of pilot projects supporting businesses in making that first step implementing ICT. Investment £2.9 million; take-up 13.8%.

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On location Mobile demonstration unit tours Cheshire villages Future online Liverpool drop-in centre showcases broadband’s potential

Broadband has certainly widened the trading horizons of Atlantic Geomatics despite the company being located off the beaten track in Cumbria. Since opting for high-speed, always-on Internet access it has established a partnership with a Canadian company and started to do overseas work.

Established three years ago, the company undertakes surveying, mapping and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) work and needs to exchange large volumes of information with clients, such as the Environment Agency, English Nature and local authorities, on a daily basis.

Tempted by Cumbria’s quality of life, Managing Director Tim Viney returned to his native county to set up the business after 20 years away from the area. “We found the best solution was satellite broadband because we are fairly isolated near Penrith and outside the Project ACCESS boundary.”

The company has grown to 10 employees and is now doing GIS work for an overseas government. “Broadband has definitely boosted our capability - we have instant contact with our clients wherever they are,” enthuses Viney.

Broadband has also increased the efficiency of Paul Fitzsimmons’ two-year old kitchen company based in Walton, Liverpool. “It used to take ages to download technical information and images of appliances - now it’s done very swiftly,” he says.

More importantly, fast Internet access has given the business a much greater degree of security. A computer virus caused a loss of six months of carefully assembled data, but all files and plans are backed up every night to an outside server ensuring greater protection of commercial and administration information.

For further information: Kevin Morley 01925 400100

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Liverpool icon Ideas sought for Littlewoods Building Grand designs Artist’s impression of new development Eastern Approaches Map layout of Edge Lane site

In another significant development Liverpool Land Development Company (LLDC) secured outline consent in March for the infrastructure to integrate Wavertree Technology Park, Liverpool Digital and the former MTL bus depot sites into a single unified science and technology park.

All three sites, along with the landmark Littlewoods building on Edge Lane, are owned by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, whose projected investment in the new employment destination is expected to reach £50 million over the next five years.

Work to transform the integrated 100 acre (40 ha) site into a strategically important location for high-tech companies will go hand in hand with the transformation of Edge Lane into a dual carriageway urban boulevard to eliminate traffic bottlenecks.

LLDC, who are coordinating the road improvement programme, expect the scheme to lever in up to £120 million of private investment along the Eastern Approaches corridor, one of five specially designated Special Investment Areas (SIA) within the city.

Planners believe the enlarged Liverpool Digital site will act as a magnet for firms at the sharp end of the research, design, development and manufacture of electronic, digital and internet-related products and services.

The NWDA is investing £35 million into the Liverpool Digital site, £9 million on infrastructure to open up development plots and £4 million on the MTL site. The Agency is also contributing £9 million to the £52 million corridor improvement scheme.

The NWDA Property Team has completed the first phase refurbishment of some of the Marconi buildings. Recent lettings have confirmed the Agency’s optimism about Liverpool Digital’s potential with 70,000 sq ft (6,503 sq m) of the 90,000 sq ft (8,361 sq m) first phase refurbishment space being pre-let to four main clients - Liverpool John Moores University’s International

Centre for Digital Content (ICDC), its Digital incubator, Marconi Selenia and Connect Internet Solutions.

The Agency is providing £3.9 million to facilitate ICDC’s relocation and expansion at Edge Lane. The site’s appeal to the ICT and New Media sector has been enhanced by its high bandwidth fibre infrastructure.

Professor Roger Webster, LJMU’s Dean of the Faculty of Media, Arts and Social Science, believes the move “will facilitate further important developments where research, training and enterprise can flourish together in a mutually supportive environment.”

Connect has relocated nearly 70 of its 80 staff into its new Edge Lane offices. A spin-out from Liverpool University, the company has developed business worth £5 million a year by offering public and private sector clients innovative web-based services.

“The move will position us at the heart of Merseyside’s digital industries and will help us in continuing to win prestigious national work for the region,” explains Chief Executive Colin Charlton.

Two other developments underline the progress being made to establish Edge Lane as a premier knowledge economy business location. On the MTL site, clearance and remediation work has started following LLDC’s award of a £1 million contract to VHE Ltd. The work is being funded by English Partnerships.

Neither the NWDA nor LLDC will act as direct developer for the site. “Our role is to provide the palette for the private sector to paint the picture,” explains LLDC Development Director Ian Hassall. “We expect the main developer interest will come as the infrastructure falls into place and developer plots are laid out.”

The LLDC has also launched a marketing drive to attract ideas on the future use of the iconic Littlewoods Pools building, either for residential purposes or as a hotel.

For further information: www.liverpooldev.co.uk Contact: Chris Morley 01925 400100

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Liverpool reached a notable milestone in its drive to become a major centre for the creative and digital industries with confirmation that the first tenants have taken space within the refurbished Marconi complex on Edge Lane.

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Botanic Gardens and Wavertree Park

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Culture capital hosts arts showcase

Symbol of hope Tracey Emin’s ‘Roman Standard’ sculpture

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Arts hub Liverpool’s £11 million FACT Centre

Tracey Emin’s first piece of public art - a small bird atop a four metres high bronze pole - now stands proudly at the gates of The Oratory next to Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral.

The artist, whose My Bed installation was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 1999, wants her first piece of public art to be a symbol of “hope, faith and spirituality.”

Entitled Roman Standard, Tracey’s sculpture was commissioned as part of art05, the second annual event organised by Arts Council England North West, working in partnership with the Northwest Regional Development Agency and the BBC. Liverpool has been one of the artist’s favourite cities since she first visited it. “I was quite proactive in supporting its bid to become European Capital of Culture so I’m very proud to be given this commission.”

Commissioned by the BBC, the new £60,000 sculpture was conceived as a tribute to Liverpool’s legendary Liver Bird.

Tracey chose the location for the piece, attracted by the neo-Roman feel of the city’s architecture and the Victorian romanticism conjured up by the site.

“My Roman Standard represents strength but also femininity,” she says. “Most public sculptures I find oppressive and dark. I wanted something that had a magic and an alchemy, something which would appear and disappear and not dominate.”

The pole is centred behind The Oratory gates and viewed directly from the front, the bird disappears and only reappears if the viewer moves left or right.

Julian Treuherz, Keeper of Art Galleries for National Museums Liverpool, believes Tracey’s sculpture will bring “a new dimension to an area of Liverpool already rich in great historic buildings and historical associations.”

Over 70 organisations and individual artists took part in the day-long art05 event held at FACT and venues in Liverpool’s ‘Independent’s District’ of former warehouses now requisitioned by artists.

The arts celebration included a debate chaired by Alan Yentob, Creative Director of the BBC, and culminated in a glittering evening awards party at the Blade Factory, a former warehouse providing gallery and studio space.

Peter Mearns, the NWDA’s Director of Marketing, believes that art05 is an event with huge significance for the Northwest.

“The region is a hotbed of artistic talent,” he says. “art05 not only provided a great opportunity for our regional artists to showcase their fantastic work, but also demonstrated the sheer breadth, depth and achievements of arts and culture in England’s Northwest.”

Internationally known for her autobiographical art, Tracey Emin presented art05’s two £10,000 awards. The individual winner was Eddie Berg, former Chief Executive and Founder of FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) in Liverpool.

Opened in 2003, the £11 million FACT Centre is the first purpose-built arts project in Liverpool for more than 60 years, and is now recognised as Britain’s leading centre for film, video and new media art.

“I have always seen FACT as an organisation which speaks to the world from Liverpool,” says Eddie who recently accepted the role of Artistic Director of the National Centre for the Moving Image in London. “I think it has added something brand

new to the cultural, social and economic life of the city.”

“After the awards ceremony lots of people told me I had done something which really deserved recognition,” he says. “That’s cherishable.”

The organisation award was presented to Quarantine, the Manchester-based theatre group that has gained an international reputation as one of the most distinctive creators of new theatre in Britain.

The group, chosen by Manchester University to accept the first John Thaw Fellowship, is currently working on a new co-production with the city’s Contact Theatre. Entitled ‘Grace’, the piece explores a number of unexpected moments that change people’s lives.

Artistic Director Richard Gregory says: “The award is recognition of our work within the world of theatre and the arts and geographically within the Northwest. We plan to spend the award on a unique project which we would not otherwise have been able to stage.”

An award for a lifetime’s contribution to the arts was presented to John Fox, Artistic Director of Welfare State International in Ulverston, Cumbria regarded as Britain’s “foremost alternative performance and installation collectives.”

Recently, he was the driving force behind the creation of Lanternhouse, a £1.6 million National Lottery-funded centre for the celebratory arts in Ulverston.

For further information: www.artscouncil.org/art05

The art05 award finalists, who showcased the strength and diversity of the arts across the Northwest were: Organisations: FACT - Liverpool Chinese Arts Centre - Manchester Horse + Bamboo theatre company - Rossendale, Lancashire Quarantine - Manchester, creators of new theatre Individuals: Eddie Berg - Liverpool, founder and former Chief Executive of FACT Benji Reid - Manchester, hip-hop theatre artist Halima Cassell - Blackburn, ceramic sculptress Lawrence George Giles - Manchester/Salford, artists working in photography and new media Michael Barnes-Wynters - Manchester, creator of Doodlebug, the international arts showcase

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Cumbria targets outdoor activity market

News

Ian Stephens who is credited with helping Cumbria Tourist Board run some of the most effective tourism marketing campaigns in the UK has been appointed Chief Executive after 12 years with the organisation.

He replaces Chris Collier who has been appointed Chief Executive of Cumbria Vision...

Visitors to the Lake District - the country’s best adventure playground - are being offered a comprehensive package of high-energy activities this summer as Cumbria Tourist Board (CTB) steps up its effort to grow the county’s £1 billion a year tourism industry.

Lovers of the great outdoors will be able to test their stamina and their nerves - on pursuits as challenging as ghyll scrambling, caving, mountain biking, abseiling down waterfalls, paragliding and fell running.

Research carried out by Locum Consulting identified activity breaks as a potential growth market and in March, CTB launched a new glossy 50-page guide at the Outdoor Show in Birmingham to attract more thrill seekers to the county.

“ We are targeting outdoor enthusiasts who have an emotional affiliation with landscape but want an energy-packed experience” says Alex McCoskrie, CTB’s Market Development Officer.

“They can enjoy a wide range of activities and then refresh themselves with a good pint, a meal in a top hotel or restaurant or just retire to their tent. The whole gamut of experience is here.”

CTB has been running a national outdoors campaign that capitalises on Cumbria’s natural assets since the Foot and Mouth crisis but has re-launched it this year after receiving additional funding from the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

Legendary climber Sir Chris Bonington, who has been recruited as Cumbria’s new Outdoor Activities Ambassador, said the Lake District Outdoors guide was a must for those “interested in living life to the full in Cumbia and the Lake District.”

The new publication complements a website and features 30 activity sports from mountain biking and hi-wire to diving and paragliding with a full listing of operators. There are also handy hints on equipment and details about forthcoming events.

“Our aim is to give people seeking high octane pursuits a complete range of activity experiences but we don’t want to alienate people wanting low energy activities like low level walking and horse riding,” explains McCoskrie.

CTB also used the Birmingham show to launch the ROAM licensing scheme, a new accreditation programme that allows

visitors to make an informed choice about what activity provider they used when staying in Cumbria.

Visitors can turn to ROAM-registered businesses as an extra reassurance that the provider has been assessed for quality of standards and safety. Funding support for the scheme has been provided by the NWDA, raising the Agency’s total investment in the outdoors promotion to £100,000.

ROAM, or Registered Outdoor Activity Member, aims to plug the gap that currently exists whereby only those businesses dealing with under-18s have to be registered with the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA).

“Many of the visitors who come looking for adventurous outdoor activities in Cumbria,” says McCoskrie, “are relative newcomers who aren’t sure what they want and do not know how to go about finding it. With ROAM, CTB can offer them informed advice.”

The scheme has won praise from Ron Rutland, Operations Director of Coniston-based Summitrek Adventure Services, the biggest non-residential provider of adventure activities in the South Lakes. “ROAM gives operators credibility. Registration means their activity has been checked out by an independent body,” he explains.

Summitreks, an outdoor equipment retailer, provides thrill seekers with an adrenalin-charged menu that includes rock climbing, kayaking and canoeing, along with corporate training exercises.

“People are realising that exercise is a good way of staying active and healthy. Rather than just walk around the lake or bathe in the sunshine, they want to do something more challenging with their time, more physical.”

Gorge scrambling is the most popular activity but he has noticed more visitors booking for aqua-seiling – a watery version of abseiling. “I developed the idea of abseiling down waterfalls and it has caught on”, says Rutland who insists on those taking part wearing a wetsuit, helmet and buoyancy suit.

For more information: www.lakedistrictoutdoors.co.uk

The NWDA and Culture Northwest have signed a three-year agreement to reinforce their shared vision to develop the region’s cultural and social base.

Cultural and creative industries contribute over £1.7 billion to the Northwest economy...

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White knuckle slide Abseiling has become a popular pastime Pedal power Coastline challenge for mountain bikers

Carlisle is the start location of the second stage of the annual Tour of Britain cycle race on August 31.

Sponsored by the NWDA, the second leg will see 96 of the world’s top professional riders pass through the region before ending the stage on Blackpool’s seafront...

London’s bid to host the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012 is being supported by the NWDA which recently lit up Manchester’s Urbis with a large-scale light projection showcasing the bid to delegates attending the Sustainable Communities Conference...

Independent TV producers Baby Cow Productions and Channel K/Karushi Management are to set up bases in the Northwest after receiving awards from the Regional Attraction Fund. Baby Cow was established in 1999 by Mancunians Steve Coogan and Henry Normal...

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News

Government investment in new and renovated housing in the Northwest will reach nearly £500 million over the next two financial years. The money will be channelled through local authorities and housing associations...

Construction will start this summer on the £23 million A66 Temple Sowerby bypass. The new road, part of the strategic trans-Pennine Route linking the Northwest, Cumbria, Scotland and Teeside, is designed to remove 95% of traffic from the village of Temple Sowerby and reduce noise and pollution...

Northwest councils have been allocated £7.9 million to support partnership working and drive up performance. Working under the North West Improvement Network (NWIN), local authorities, including fire authorities, will use the money to address common challenges and share best practice...

Wigan and Knowsley are amongst 20 local authorities signed up by the Government to pilot Local Area Agreements (LAAs), a radical new devolved approach to service delivery. The Agreements reduce bureaucracy by bringing together 100 different funding streams and reducing reportable targets from hundreds to just 60...

Whitehall despatches Technology transfer tempo increases There has been a step-change in the way Northwest universities and Higher Education (HE) colleges transfer knowledge and engage with business, the public sector and the wider community, according to the Higher Education - Business and Community Interaction Survey 2002-03.

Income generated by university business consultancy activities in the region rose by 72% to more than £8 million, and there was an increase in the number of companies spinning out of academia.

Patent applications increased by 43% to 67 and there was a 138% rise in the number of successful patent applications.

Event highlights

Jun 03

Jun 09

Northwest Business Environment Awards 2005 Showcasing good business and environmental practice Old Trafford, Manchester

BITC North West Awards for Excellence 2005 winners of the Big Tick awards St. Georges Hall, Liverpool

Jun 19

Jun 21

Jun 28

Jul 06

UEFA Women’s Football Championships Final Chasing fame on the soccer pitch Ewood Park, Blackburn

England’s Northwest Film and Television Showcase Spotlight on the region’s film and TV talent Manchester Square, London

Manufacturing Conference Celebrating a decade of manufacturing achievement Reebok Stadium, Bolton

CBI Merseyside Dinner Guest Speaker - Digby Jones, Director-General, CBI St. George’s Hall, Liverpool

Jul 15

Jul 20

Jul 31

Aug 05

More women becoming entrepreneurs The number of self-employed women in the Northwest has now reached 101,000, about 28% of all self employed. More than 3% of women are involved in entrepreneurial activity in the region, twice the figure of two years ago, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report of the London Business School.

Research has shown that there is a higher rate of entrepreneurial activity by women in rural areas than in either urban or suburban areas. Female businesses also tend to be more innovative than male businesses.

Among those celebrating at a London networking reception to mark International Women’s Day were Helen Colley who set up Farmhouse Fare in Clitheroe to meet demands for her sticky toffee pudding and Emma Lang of Futuristic Fibre Optics of Nelson.

Region improves recycling record People in the Northwest are catching the recycling habit. New figures released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show that the region’s households recycled over 22% more waste in 2003-04 than in the previous year.

Householders recycled 14.1% of their waste compared to just 11.3% in 2002-03. The substantial improvement helped England beat its 17% recycling and composting target by 1%.

Waste sent to landfill sites nationally reduced for the second year in a row and there was a 2% reduction in the amount of household waste collected per person per year. By 2005-06 the government wants a quarter of household waste to be recycled and composted.

North West Regional Assembly Annual Conference Fresh focus on challenge and change Wigan Investment Centre

RHS Flower Show Show gardens to die for Tatton Park, Cheshire

Salford ITU Triathlon A true test of stamina Salford Quays

Regional Tourism Conference Polishing the region’s tourism gems Rheged, Penrith

Aug 24-30

Sept 08

Sept 16

Sept 17-22

International Beatles Week Festival World’s biggest celebration of Beatles’ music Various venues in Liverpool and Merseyside

IoD Northwest Director of the Year Awards 2005 Management’s high fliers take centre stage City of Manchester Stadium

NWDA Annual Conference Review of the past year’s achievements Manchester International Convention Centre

Liberal Democrat Annual Conference Politicking at the seaside Hilton Hotel, Blackpool

Other key events June 11-12 Head for the Hills Outdoor Festival Rydal, Ambleside 19-20 North West Food Lovers Festival Westmorland Showground, Crooklands, Cumbria

21-22 Cheshire County Show Tabley, Knutsford

July 27 Nantwich and South Cheshire Show Dorfold Hall, Nantwich

For further information: www.nwda.co.uk/events

August

September

05-07 Lowther Show Shap, Penrith 31 Tour of Britain Carlisle and Blackpool seafront

28 Entrepreneur EN Deal Awards Dinner Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

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Viewpoint

The Northwest Regional Development Agency manages all operations from its Headquarters at:

“I first visited Cumbria in 1996 for a two-day break from appearing in the West End musical Tommy and the area has had a huge impact on my life. It is uniquely beautiful and one of the most romantic places in the world - and I have travelled pretty widely. I realise I am a fairly recent Cumbrian convert - my husband’s parents live near Derwentwater - but I am infatuated with so many aspects of the place.

In addition, there are five area offices for the implementation of local activities as follows:

Because it is a National Park I know it is well protected and although I do not claim to be an expert, I realise that careful decisions need to be made to find the right balance between encouraging tourism and protecting its beauty.

Kim Wilde, the daughter of 50s rock ‘n’ roll star Marty Wilde, who made her name as a pop singer in the 1980s, has more recently found success as a garden designer and writer.

Her first book Gardening with Children was published in April 2005 and the working title of her next book is the First Time Gardener.

Her love for Cumbria and its natural assets inspired her to create the Cumbrian Fellside Garden with co-designer Richard Lucas for this year’s Chelsea Flower Show winning a coveted Gold Medal at their first attempt. She has also designed show gardens for the annual Garden Festival at Holker Hall.

So many people rely on tourist-related businesses for their livelihood, but it is important that tourism is developed in a sustainable way. We must ensure that nothing is done that would spoil the very landscape and beauty which draws people to visit this special part of the country.

That’s why I support the ‘Fix The Fells’ campaign to protect the footpaths. I do quite a lot of walking when I visit the Lakes and it’s vital that we keep the footpaths safe for future generations. I want my children to walk the same paths that I enjoy now.

There must be an integrated transport policy, a unique strategy to tackle the traffic problems of Cumbria. Wildlife must continue to be protected. When we visit my husband’s parents, we often see a red squirrel, hopping confidently along the wall, despite the work of the grey squirrel bullies to squeeze them out. I really hope our grandchildren will still be able to see these rare and beautiful animals in the wild.

I’m happy that gardening has had such an impact on preserving our wildlife all over the UK. There are lots of initiatives to encourage children to create wildlife gardens in schools as part of the National Curriculum, and others to advise all gardeners how to invest in the right plants to help the survival of so many species. This has really started to matter to so many people in the last ten years.

We have designed a Cumbrian garden for Chelsea this year, working with materials such as slate, timber and willow produced from sustainable sources or reclaimed materials. And we have used local craftspeople to weave willow and sculpt some urns for the garden.

I believe that being out there in the countryside enables you to focus on the most important aspects of your life. And those who decide to pursue a creative ambition, quite spontaneously, are usually successful.”

Designed by Creative Lynx Ltd www.creativelynx.co.uk CL/June 05/1657SN

Landscape to inspire

PO Box 37 Renaissance House Centre Park Warrington WA1 1XB Tel: +44 (0)1925 400 100 Fax: +44 (0)1925 400 400 e-mail: information@nwda.co.uk

Greater Manchester Giants Basin Potato Wharf Castlefield Manchester M3 4NB Tel: +44 (0)161 817 7400 Fax: +44 (0)161 831 7051

Cumbria Gillan Way Penrith 40 Business Park Penrith Cumbria CA11 9BP Tel: +44 (0)1768 867 294 Fax: +44 (0)1768 895 477

Merseyside Station House Mercury Court Tithebarn Street Liverpool L2 2QP Tel: +44 (0)1925 400 100 Fax: +44 (0)151 236 3731

Lancashire 13 Winckley Street Preston Lancashire PR1 2AA Tel: +44 (0)1772 206 000 Fax: +44 (0)1772 200 049

Cheshire and Warrington Brew House Wilderspool Park Greenalls Avenue Warrington WA4 6HL Tel: +44 (0)1925 644 220 Fax: +44 (0)1925 644 222 Visit: www.nwda.co.uk & www.englandsnorthwest.com

Cover: Challenger Laser Matt is totally chlorine free and acquired only from suppliers operating sustainable forest reserves Text:

Cyclus Offset is manufactured using only 100% recycled post consumer waste

ENGLAND’S NORTHWEST

BACKS THE BID TO REGISTER YOUR SUPPORT, VISIT WWW.LONDON2012.CO.UK

The Northwest Regional Development Agency is fully supportive of London’s 2012 Olympic bid. Winning the 2012 Olympic Games would bring a number of significant opportunities to England’s Northwest, enabling the region to build on its excellent reputation for hosting major events, increasing tourism and creating a wealth of new business opportunities.