http://www.nwda.co.uk/pdf/315_issue_9

315째 THE RDA MAGAZINE JULY 2006 ISSUE 09

NATURAL ASSETS Growing the natural economy

Grand designs Raising the quality of regeneration Bridging output gap Northern Way drive on jobs and skills Gateways to opportunity Investment in new transport schemes

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HIGHLIGHTS

CONTENTS THE THIRD DEGREE 4

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THE RDA MAGAZINE JULY 2006 ISSUE 09

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BUSINESS 6

Grant support aids business growth

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Green future for chemicals industry

CLEAN-UP UNLOCKS CUMBRIAN POTENTIAL New opportunities are emerging rapidly across the Northwest as the nuclear industry gears itself up for the new age of decommissioning.

Stuart Chambers

10 Learning the art of enterprise 11 Agency wins praise

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SKILLS AND EDUCATION

WORKING TO CLOSE PRODUCTIVITY GAP Driving up skill levels and encouraging the economically-inactive back into work are among the initiatives in place to close the North-South output gap.

12 Colleges serve up new skills 13 Lift off for Learning Zone 14 Working to close productivity gap

PEOPLE AND JOBS 16 Keeping culture capital on the move

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18 Clean-up unlocks Cumbria potential

NATURAL WAY TO ENJOY LIFE Exploiting the money-spinning appeal of the Northwest's natural environment to boost the region's £7 billion tourism industry.

INFRASTRUCTURE 20 Champions of good design 22 New gateways to prosperity

QUALITY OF LIFE 24 Natural way to enjoy life

OUR VISION:

315° CONTACTS

26 Region hits winning streak 27 Survey reveals upbeat trends

REGULARS 28 People in the region 30 Event highlights 31 Getting in touch

‘A dynamic, sustainable international economy which competes on the basis of knowledge, advanced technology and an excellent quality of life for all.’

CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

Editor Trevor Bates email@trevorbates.fsnet.co.uk NWDA Erica Boardman email: erica.boardman@nwda.co.uk tel: 01925 400 217 visit www.nwda.co.uk & www.visitenglandsnorthwest.com

ACHIEVING TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE The successful launch of the new Regional Economic Strategy (RES) in March demonstrated the increasing importance that everyone in the Northwest places on economic regeneration.

We now have a better understanding than ever before of the issues facing the Northwest and the actions we need to take for economic growth.

For the first time, the RES gives priority to those areas which will have the greatest impact on our economy and are absolutely fundamental to success – the transformational actions. The NWDA and our partners are working hard to implement the new RES and the region is already witnessing good progress in achieving many of our priorities.

In early June, the consultation phase for the Northwest Climate Change Action Plan was launched. The plan is critical to assist the region in addressing its greenhouse gas emissions and help it to prepare for the impacts of climate change.

More recently, one of the transformational actions received a major boost when the BBC announced that Salford MediaCity:UK is the leading bidder for the BBC’s proposed move to the Northwest. This announcement is a significant step forward in plans to develop a Media Enterprise Zone (MEZ) in Greater Manchester and is a key priority for transforming our economy.

The Northwest now has an unrivalled opportunity to transform the BBC and to create an internationally competitive Media Enterprise Zone. The move would create a

media and broadcasting hub with the potential to create up to 10,000 jobs and add £170 million to the regional economy, with additional benefits throughout the North of England.

Throughout the process, the NWDA has been working closely with the BBC to develop the most innovative proposals possible. I hope now we can move swiftly and progress the move to the next stage to secure this critical project for the region.

The 45 transformational actions identified in the RES are vital to delivering a step change in the region’s economic performance. They exemplify the innovative spirit unique to our region and ensure we prioritise projects based on their economic potential. They will only be achieved, however, through all sub-regions and partner organisations working together to fulfil their potential.

The NWDA will continue to provide the strategic leadership to ensure that we create real economic benefits for the Northwest.

I am convinced that by continuing to work together, we will deliver real transformational change across the region.

Bryan Gray, July 2006

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THE THIRD DEGREE

STUART CHAMBERS “WE HAVE TO TELL THE WORLD THE NORTHWEST IS A HELL OF A GOOD PLACE TO DO BUSINESS AND KEEP BROADCASTING THE FACT AS THE REGION’S ECONOMY IMPROVES.” STUART CHAMBERS GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE, PILKINGTON PLC

As Group Chief Executive of Pilkington plc, a £2.7 billion global glass business, Stuart Chambers is a true captain of industry. He climbed the corporate ladder working as a chemical engineer and market analyst with Shell before going on to hold senior sales and marketing positions with Mars International. In April he took up his newest challenge, that of Chairman of the North West Business Leadership Team, an influential ‘think tank’ of the region’s most senior businessmen. He is married with three children and enjoys sailing and tennis.

Are you planning to champion any particular campaign or cause during your Chairmanship of the North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT)?

In the short term no. Our new Action Plan focuses on four priorities that are crucial for the Northwest’s success – enterprise and education, research and innovation, connectivity and promoting the region. All 29 members of the Team are dedicated to delivering that plan. There is also a fifth overlay – the international dimension. That’s one area where I think I can make a difference and add value because of the global nature of Pilkington.

We have to tell the world the Northwest is a hell of a good place to do business and keep broadcasting the fact as the region’s economy improves.

What ideas do you have for driving home that message?

Capital of Culture 2008 provides us with a golden opportunity to host a major business experience. We are currently in the early stages of developing what we hope will be a really, really world-class 2-3 day business summit with a strong attendance of prominent national and international people. I know a lot of companies and chief executives and have made it my personal mission to persuade as many of them as possible to attend. Think of how the region’s image will benefit from 300-400 key people returning home enthusing to friends and colleagues about how great it is to live and work in Englands Northwest.

How much influence has the NWBLT had on shaping the recently launched Regional Economic Strategy?

We put a lot of effort into identifying the right priorities for economic growth.

Whilst the new RES does identify transformational actions, my only concern is that it could become even more focused.

We have to be brave and target a limited number of clear, tangible actions. Business operates in an environment where you prioritise while the public sector is about inclusiveness, trying to do as much as possible and not alienating anybody.

What additional measures would you like the government to take to reduce the North-South divide?

Well, for a start ministers could help by investing more in research and development (R&D). The Northwest receives 12.6% of the private sector investment in R&D but only 2.7% of government funding into innovation.

That’s a real beef for many of us and business can and should press the government to do more to match the private sector’s example.

We are not asking it to triple or quintuple total investment but to share out what they do invest on a much more equitable basis.

Are there any other areas where you are active?

The biggest CSR issue for Pilkington is being aware of the environmental impact our factories have on the region. We own a lot of brownfield land that we can sell for development and general improvement but the planning hoops we have to go through are sometimes beyond belief. The private sector can do something about brownfield land but the public sector needs to be more pragmatic about planning. It’s taking much too long to get approval for some schemes.

We have to sharpen up.

If the region could marshal its energy and resources behind one single goal what, in your view, should it be?

For me it’s raising the education and skills level – ensuring we get the appropriate graduates coming out of the Higher Education system who are prepared to live and work here. There is a desperate shortage in the Northwest of qualified engineers and science-based manufacturing people and it’s very difficult to fill these jobs.

Every company I talk to with similar needs is facing the same challenge. We meet three times a year with the Vice-Chancellors of the Universities of Manchester, Liverpool and Lancaster, to help shape the curriculum so the people graduating from these institutions can be employed straight away and can add value. That’s critical.

Pilkington is facing the future with a new Japanese owner. What are the employment and investment implications of the Nippon Sheet Glass deal for the workforce and the region?

In the short to medium term the deal will have very little effect. NSG has said the float glass business will be headquartered in the region and the Japanese will continue to invest in the existing business. The overriding logic and rationale of the acquisition is not one of synergies or job cuts. It’s all about creating scale and leadership. We will continue to face the same challenges as UK plc – cutting costs and raising productivity.

Where does the NWBLT stand – and you personally – on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?

If you don’t approach CSR proactively it can hurt your bottom line and indeed it should.

It’s sound business practice as well as socially satisfying to take an interest in the community in which you operate. I believe Pilkington is one of the region’s standard bearers in this respect. We have 130 employees who have volunteered for various community initiatives. Managers, for instance, team up with school head teachers on mentoring projects. Others are engaged in the right-to-read initiative where people lend their time to help children who are struggling in class to keep up because of various difficulties. It’s not just about throwing money around which rarely sustains anything.

So we can assume that the Pilkington’s passion for innovation will continue unabated?

Absolutely. The combination of the two businesses should spark and drive even further opportunity. My predecessors have done a super job over the last 50 years. Float glass was a world-changing invention and there have been other great advances with our development of low-emissivity glass and the first self-cleaning glass, which I believe will become standard in the new homes of the future. Innovation is our lifeblood – it’s the one factor that differentiates us in the global marketplace and it’s an ethos that many other companies in the Northwest adopt. The more that do so, the more successful Northwest plc will become.

For further information: email: geoffrey.piper@nwblt.co.uk tel: 01925 212078 www.nwblt.co.uk

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BUSINESS NEWS

Centre of Excellence – Liberata is bringing new skills to Barrow

Trade and investment links between Australia and the Northwest are set to grow following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the State government of Victoria and the NWDA. The agreement is expected to create new opportunities in biotechnology, ICT, digital industries and financial services.

Property assets owned by the NWDA are to be managed by a new Public Private Partnership (PPP) formed by the Agency and a private sector partner.

The new venture will have an initial regeneration portfolio of 885 properties, primarily industrial developments and business parks.

Bionow, the Northwest Regional Development Agency’s biotechnology group, is giving the University of Manchester’s prestigious Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre (WMIC) £500,000 for new equipment. It is expected to create up to 29 highly skilled jobs over the next three years.

Onyvax has started work on an ovarian cancer vaccine at the newly opened UK National Biomanufacturing Centre at Liverpool with the first package of supporting finance from the £2.7 million Access Fund launched by the NWDA. The £34 million facility is set to become Europe’s leading biopharmaceutical design centre.

Knowsley will represent the Northwest in the 2006 competition to find the UK’s most enterprising town. It secured the nomination – and a £75,000 grant from the NWDA to develop entrepreneurial activity – for its achievement in dramatically reducing unemployment and encouraging new business start-ups in the borough.

St Helens Council has been awarded £13.5 million after a successful bid for funding from the government’s Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI), a three-year programme that aims to increase entrepreneurial activity and reduce the failure of locally owned businesses in deprived areas.

GRANT SUPPORT AIDS BUSINESS GROWTH A business grant scheme for growing companies is having an uplifting effect on industrial areas of the Northwest facing challenges in creating new employment opportunities.

In Barrow, outsourcing provider Liberata has generated a more positive outlook by opening a shared services centre that will deliver 250 much needed jobs.

The £2.8 million project was made possible by an £800,000 grant under the Selective Finance for Investment in England (SFI) scheme operated by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).

Liberata will develop a national Centre of Excellence at Lake House on the Furness Business Park to process benefit claims and collect council tax for Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council and other local authorities across England.

The funding award coincides with the company securing a new ten-year £26 million partnership contract with the council to deliver outsourced business services until 2018. It has been working for the council since 1998.

Peter Dobson, SFI Team Leader at the NWDA, believes the project is a good example of the Agency intervening in an area where market forces have failed.

“Barrow is not considered a natural contender for financial services but we were able to persuade the company to locate the new operation in the town by demonstrating the workforce and property advantages alongside offering an SFI grant. Most of the jobs are at NVQ3 level and are bringing new skills to the town”.

SFI is one of the primary regional tools for encouraging investment. It has been operating in its present form since April 2004 but has a pedigree dating back to 1972.

The Agency, in common with other RDAs, can decide on grant aid applications up to a maximum of £2 million. Projects seeking greater support are handled by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

SUSTAINABLE JOBS Over the past two years the NWDA has made 194 offers totalling £42 million triggering a potential capital investment of £375 million and creating or safeguarding 9,000 jobs.

Over four years more than 400 offers were made totalling £133 million. This would have generated capital investment of £1.2 billion if all projects had been taken through to completion and 26,000 jobs. Forty-five of these offers were made to large companies.

In recent years grant aid has been

refined to support growth in knowledge and innovation-led industries. About 20% of offers are made to service sector companies.

SFI is still targeted at projects that generate jobs but, according to Dobson, there is “a much greater emphasis on viable productivity gains, improving workforce skills and sustainability of jobs, whereas in the past support would have been more general.”

The Agency is looking to support capital investment schemes in advanced engineering industries including chemicals, aerospace and automotives, and within other sectors including biomedical, pharmaceuticals, digital and creative industries, business and professional services and food and drink, all of which have been identified as priority sectors in the Regional Economic Strategy.

Dobson’s team tends to work through Business Link and a range of intermediaries.

He stresses that the NWDA is willing to look at any innovative ideas for improving productivity and skills.

To be eligible for SFI Grants companies have to be located in Assisted Areas (Merseyside, parts of Greater Manchester and North Cheshire, East Lancashire, Lancaster and some costal areas like Barrow),

giving a coverage of 45% of the region.

Businesses investing in other development areas – another 21% of the region – may also qualify.

NEW TEAM The SFI Team is part of a newly created NWDA Business Products team headed by David Read, which manages a range of business support products including SFI, Grants for Research and Development, Business Finance products and ICT development.

The team is working closely with the

For further information: email: peter.dobson@nwda.co.uk tel: 01925 400100 www.nwda.co.uk

Cyber workplace – Liberata staff enjoy an IT-rich environment

GLOBAL PLAYER

Business base – Modern offices for a modern industry

private and public sector to develop a new set of products to support business needs.

“We want to move away from a grant culture and use public money only where there is obvious market failure,” explains Read, He believes there is real growth potential within the mid-corporate market (companies of between 100-250 employees) and is currently looking at the needs of that sector.

One of the latest SFI recipients is Precision Polymer Engineering (PPE), a world leader in elastomer sealing solutions based in Blackburn. The grant will be invested in new state-of-the-art machinery that is already being used by its overseas competitors.

In April it won a Queen’s Awards for Innovation for developing a specialised polymer material with rubber-like qualities and exceptionally high chemical resistance. It is used in seals for tools fitted in semiconductor wafer manufacturing equipment.

The privately owned company, which expects turnover in 2006 to be over £14 million, employs 148 and exports about 80% of its output. In the last year it has invested £1 million to stay at the forefront of the industry.

Managing Director Peter Cloney says PPE has to be “efficient, responsive and produce high quality products to challenging deadlines” to compete in global markets. “This is only achieved by state of the art machinery and developing a highly trained workforce. The NWDA grant assists us to attain both these goals,” he said.

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BUSINESS

PLUGGING INTO CAMPUS EXPERTISE

GREEN FUTURE FOR CHEMICALS INDUSTRY

Planet friendly – Reaxa specialises in green chemistry

The Northwest chemicals industry is changing fast. For intensive production read sustainable manufacturing, for base chemicals read new and innovative green chemistry. And it is companies like Manchester-based Reaxa that are at the forefront of this era of change.

Set up less than a year ago as a spin out company from Avecia and Cambridge University, Reaxa offers a new cleaner, greener type of chemistry. One of its core products uses polymer beads to encapsulate precious metals within synthetic products and waste streams. Traditionally, retrieving these metals would have meant incinerating tonnes of resin, but now it involves burning just a few kilos of polymer beads.

In terms of the environment, this has huge benefits, explains Reaxa Chief Executive Dr Pete Jackson. “In the past you’d have to ship large quantities of materials around the country and use energy to burn it, which all produces lots of CO2. But now if you strip the metals out using bead technology, you can recycle the solvents too, because the economic value of the metal is trapped in the beads.”

And with metals such as rhodium currently valued at around $120,000 a kilo, it’s little surprise business is booming.

Reaxa isn’t alone in helping to green the

“THERE’S NOW A MUCH GREATER FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING, WITH COMPANIES PLACING A SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON HOW THEY REDUCE WASTE AND ENERGY USE.” DR CHRIS ASHCROFT GENERAL MANAGER, CHEMICALS NORTHWEST

Northwest’s £10 billion chemical industry.

INEOS Silicas is a recent winner of the industry’s Green Product Design Award, while Uniqema, is seeing a significant growth in their range of naturally-based products, particularly biodegradable hydraulic fluids which can be used safely in environmentally sensitive areas.

WASTE REDUCTION There is also a move across the region to develop more sustainable manufacturing processes, and over the next two years more than £1 million is to be invested into this area through a Northern Way initiative.

“There’s now a much greater focus on sustainable manufacturing, with companies placing a special emphasis on how they reduce waste and energy use,” explains Dr. Chris Ashcroft, General Manager of Chemicals Northwest, a regional cluster organisation for chemicals supported by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).

In all there are six priority sectors in the Regional Economic Strategy (RES), which together account for 55% of Northwest GVA, and which are central to the NWDA’s policy of cluster development. This is designed to encourage companies from similar industries, and which share the same geographic area and infrastructure, to

network, build relationships and improve their competitive advantage.

The chemical industry is now part of the region’s Advanced Engineering and Materials sector, which is made up of industries such as aerospace and car manufacturing that use the advanced composites and polymers developed by the region’s chemicals companies.

And this concept of clusters is proving ideal for the region’s new look chemical industry, a sector that employs over 40,000 skilled people at over 400 manufacturing sites. It provides a quarter of the UK’s chemical output, and with over 60% of production going into overseas markets it is the region’s No 1 exporter.

CUTTING EDGE Once dominated by a handful of big multinationals, often specialising in the bulk manufacture of industry staples such as chlorine and sodium hydroxide, the sector now features a new breed of SMEs and spin out companies, many based around new applications developed by the region’s universities.

Ashcroft talks of a move towards “smaller, more innovative, speciality chemical operations that are much more at the cutting edge of modern science.” In some cases they have developed on the back of traditional industries, but more often they

Chemicals for soft contact lenses, additives for new cleaning products and the latest reagents for use in fuel cells for products such as mobile phones – these are just three of the projects that have recently been helped on their way by the Organic Materials Innovation Centre (OMIC).

Set up in 2004 with backing from Chemicals Northwest and funded by the DTI, the £4.3 million Manchester-based centre is helping to link up businesses working with organic materials and polymers and the vast bank of knowledge inside the region’s universities.

“OMIC is all about helping companies to innovate,” says Dr Mike Holmes, the organisation’s industrial Liaison Manager.

“We help carry out ‘knowledge transfer’ from the university to the companies, and then continue to support them as they develop their products.”

Crucially, this support can both be on a long or short-term basis, depending on the company’s needs, and can range from

desktop research to producing small quantities of chemicals for evaluation.

“OMIC offers a fast and flexible service that’s as useful to a blue chip company as it is a new start up,” adds Holmes.

“And it’s helping to put the Northwest firmly in the driving seat when it comes to chemical innovation.”

The Northwest has also become the base for the Centre for Biocatalysis, Biotransformations and Biocatalytic Manufacturre (CoEBio3), a new national research centre based at the University of Manchester, and the DTI-funded Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network (CIKTN), which has received £3.5 million funding from the government.

Led by Chief Executive Carol BoyerSpooner and sharing offices with Chemicals Northwest, CIKTN has a broad remit to encourage innovation, boost foreign trade and ensure companies across the UK have easier access to new markets and new technology.

Knowledge transfer – OMIC helps companies develop new products

are the result of a marriage between scientific entrepreneurs and academia.

There is now much more focus within universities on industrial collaboration and getting their applications out into the real world. This is reflected by developments such as Manchester’s government-supported Organic Materials Innovation Centre (OMIC) and the Innovation Centre at Liverpool Science Park, the NWDA and Europeanfunded state-of-the-art facility that provides small companies with the resources and local links they need to move forward.

“Ten to fifteen years ago this innovation was happening inside a handful of big

companies,” says Reaxa’s Jackson. “Now, a lot of the technology investment that was put in by those big companies via universities has worked its way through, and is coming back out as actual businesses.

“And it’s smaller companies like Reaxa that are hopefully going to become the bigger companies of the future.”

For further information: email: chris.ashcroft@ chemicalsnorthwest.org.uk tel: 01928 515678 www.chemicalsnorthwest.org.uk

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BUSINESS “WE HAVE EXPERIENCE OF NURTURING OVER 40 GRADUATE COMPANIES AND THIS EXPERTISE WILL BE TRANSLATED INTO THE NEW VENTURE.” ANDREW HAMPSON DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, UNIVERSITY OF SALFORD

LEARNING AGENCY ASSESSMENT THE ART OF ENTERPRISE “WORKING WITH THE NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE HAS BEEN A REALLY VALUABLE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE AGENCY TO TAKE STOCK OF THE PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE AND EXAMINE HOW WE CAN IMPROVE.”

STEVEN BROOMHEAD CHIEF EXECUTIVE, NWDA

Hotbed of enterprise – How the Salford Innovation Forum Centre will look

City planners are joining forces with business, technology transfer specialists, schools, colleges and the local community to create a new knowledge-driven enterprise hub for Salford.

One aim of the new £9.6 million Salford Innovation Forum Centre on Frederick Road is to sow the seeds of enterprise in young people and stimulate them to become the businesses of the future.

Led by Salford City Council with £5.9 million of funding support from the Northwest Regional Development Agency and £3.4 million from the European Regional Development

Fund, the project forms part of the second phase development of Salford Innovation Park.

Council Leader John Merry believes the development will act as a magnet for new investment helping to renew the economic base of the area. “It will also help us play our part in the full development of the Manchester Knowledge Capital project.”

The Park, in which the University of Salford is also a key partner, will form the western gateway of the Knowledge Capital’s Arc of Opportunity, a geographical concentration of academic expertise, cultural assets and new sectors of commercial activity.

When completed in August 2007, the Forum will provide 5000 sq ft of high quality business units in a rich ICT environment for up to 55 start-ups and small companies.

COMMUNITY LINKS

Joining forces – Local colleges will use the centre for business related education

It will also act as a bridge between education and local residents hence the strong linkages with Salford College, the new Albion High School and Charlestown and the Lower Kersal New Deal for Communities programme, another funding partner.

Companies taking space in the new building will be able to plug into the research and technology transfer know-how of the University of Salford, which has a strong spread of expertise in industries like robotics,

healthcare and new media.

Andrew Hampson, the University’s Director of Technology Transfer, regards the centre on which work has now started as an intermediary stage “missing link” in the production line of graduate companies.

Many of these start life in the university’s Technology House incubator before progressing on to the Innovation Park.

Salford has developed a pioneering ‘real world’ approach to enterprise-related education over the past decade, charting its way through activities as varied as radical banking schemes for the financially excluded to setting up its own TV channel and record label.

“We have experience of nurturing over 40 graduate companies and this expertise will be translated into the new venture,” explains Hampson.

The main focus of the centre will be on growing technology-driven businesses with some limited support services for low-tech, community-based enterprises. Local schools and colleges will also be able to use the centre for business-related education.

For further information: email: strategy.resources@salford.gov.uk tel: 0161 794 4711 www.salford.gov.uk

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) has received strong praise from the National Audit Office (NAO) after undergoing a rigorous examination of its organisational performance.

Strong partnership working, effective leadership ability, strong financial control and an excellent record of achieving outputs were recognised as key strengths of the Agency.

The NAO used an Independent Performance Assessment (IPA) to measure how effectively the NWDA is working to improve the region’s economy and found it is performing strongly with a ‘clear vision of what it wants to achieve as an organisation.’

“This is really excellent news for the region,” said its Chief Executive Steven Broomhead. “Working with the National Audit Office has been a really valuable opportunity for the Agency to take stock of the progress we have made and examine how we can improve.”

In the six years since it was formed the Agency and its partners have created or safeguarded 170,000 jobs, helped with the formation of 9,000 new businesses, reclaimed 3,500 hectares of brownfield land and levered £2 billion of private investment.

The NAO carried out the assessment on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry, the sponsor department for Regional Development Agencies, engaging 90 external and 80 internal stakeholders in the process.

It looked at five areas – ambition, prioritisation, capacity, performance management and achievement – and scored the NWDA 20 out of a possible 24 points, equivalent to ‘performing strongly overall’, the highest commendation possible.

CONSULTATION PROCESS

The report praised the NWDA-led review and development of the new Regional Economic Strategy (RES) citing it as a ‘strong process which demonstrates a shared vision and ambition for the region.’

It also recognised the Agency’s strong track record of success in many areas including: I Strong leadership in developing knowledge-based science projects including Daresbury and the National Biomanufacturing Centre and the establishment of the UK’s first Science Council I Greatly improved collaborative working between Higher Education and industry I Successful implementation of Project ACCESS – a UK and RDA ‘first’ - enabling the roll-out of broadband across Cumbria I Developing the region’s Urban Regeneration Companies.

As well as highlighting the NWDA’s achievements, the assessment also recognised key areas of improvement that the Agency is committed to developing in its drive for greater efficiency.

These focus on improving engagement and communication with sub-regional partnerships and stakeholders, as well as with partners on the appraisal of projects.

The Agency, which currently has a staff of 365 and a budget of £1.5 billion over the next 3 years, will also be examining its capacity to take on new challenges and the evaluation of projects, as recommended in the assessment.

The assessment showed that strong progress had been made in agreeing and identifying regional priorities, said Steven Broomhead.

“However, we are not complacent and know that there are areas where we must seek continuous improvement. The building blocks are firmly in place – our next challenge is to ensure that we sustain our achievements in the future.”

For further information: www.nwda.co.uk

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SKILLS AND EDUCATION NEWS Cumbria should have its own University by summer 2007, following confirmation by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) that its campuses in Penrith and Carlisle will join St. Martin’s College and the Cumbria Institute of Arts to form the new Higher Education institution. UCLan will retain the Westlakes Research Institute.

Rolls-Royce has formally opened a new £7 million world-class production facility at Barnoldswick, Lancashire, with training investment provided by the NWDA. One of a new breed of ‘focused factories’, the facility will manufacture a range of specialised aero-engine components.

CallNorthWest, an industry initiative hosted by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) with £2.5 million funding from the NWDA, has won praise from the government for helping to drive up the skills in contact centres. To date the project has assisted over 43% of the region’s 570 contact centres.

Companies in the Northwest wanting to develop the rising stars of the region’s manufacturing sector are being offered financial support through a new £115,000 education scholarship fund launched by Trafford Park-based The Manufacturing Institute.

Difficulties in recruiting pharmacists in Lancashire and Cumbria have prompted UCLan to invest £2.35 million in a new School of Pharmacy on its Preston campus.

Headed by Prof Antony D’Emanuele, the school will enrol an initial 60 undergraduates in September 2007 rising to 90 in 2009.

Employers, their clients, public agencies and training providers have joined forces to launch Construction for Merseyside Ltd to solve the serious skill shortages affecting the industry. It is estimated the industry will need 2,000 to 3,000 new employees per year over the next five to ten years if construction projects are to be completed on time.

COLLEGES SERVE UP NEW SKILLS Further Education specialists are forging ahead with a new skills programme to help create a “world class standard” in Manchester’s burgeoning lifestyle industries.

South Trafford College worked with a group of 12 major employers including the Bridgewater Hall, hotels, designer stores and restaurants to agree an industryrecognised benchmark from which bespoke training programmes have been developed.

The college designed a one-day leadership course focusing on the Three As – appearance, approach and attitude – and including a ‘pride in Manchester’ element.

Three hundred employees attended in its first two weeks.

It now offers courses including a two-hour “mixology” training session on bar tendering, a similar one about wine, food hygiene and food preparation.

QUALITY COURSES

Development Agency (NWDA) – the lead regional development agency on employment, skills and higher education – and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).

Fran Hulbert, Director of Skills Policy for the NWDA, says: “We are already ahead of the game and our aim is to prove the slogan: ‘FE Means Business’. We want FE colleges to demonstrate the significant contribution they make to the regional economy and to build on and share the high quality achievements of the first phase of this project.”

In the £650,000 first phase of the project, six diverse eight-month projects were launched across Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Greater Merseyside and Lancashire.

Phase Two, from 2005-07, which aims at transferring and adapting successful practice to other colleges in the region, has received £1.2 million from the NWDA and £800,000 from the LSC. Elaine Chadwick, NWDA Project Manager for Fusion, says: “We are raising the profile of the FE sector’s energy and dynamism, and making employers aware of its ability to deliver quality bespoke training.”

It is one of six initiatives developed across the Northwest as part of a project aimed at strengthening links between Further Education (FE) and employers – the first of its kind in the UK. ‘Fusion’ mirrors the government’s new economic mission for FE and is designed to increase the sector’s responsiveness to business to enable colleges and key agencies to deliver world-class skills tailored to employer needs.

For further information: External evaluators highlighted South email: elaine.chadwick@nwda.co.uk Trafford College’s work as “the flagship tel: Elaine Chadwick 01925 644 220 exemplar of the success of the whole project” to date.

They pinpointed Trafford’s use of “top class sector expertise” – the College employed international consultant John McGirl from the School of Hospitality and Tourism at Florida International University – to design courses tailored to the needs of the city’s hospitality industry.

Already, Merseyside colleges are developing similar courses designed Tasting the high life – to meet the needs of Hospitality students with Liverpool in particular celebrity chef James Martin in the run-up to the year long European Capital of Culture celebrations in 2008.

Fusion is funded by the Northwest Regional

High fliers – Students on an aerospace training programme

LIFT-OFF FOR LEARNING ZONE Macclesfield’s Jetstream 31 passenger aircraft is on the move again. And while there are no plans for the 19-seater turboprop to return the skies, it will prove a high flier in plans for the town’s £38 million Learning Zone.

On the campus of the modern complex, scheduled for completion in August 2007, will be a new hangar for the aircraft, a key component of Macclesfield College’s European Centre for Aerospace Training.

Already attracting students from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates as well as across the Northwest, the College, currently a Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in aerospace engineering, hopes to attract more overseas students once the innovative Learning Zone is operational.

As well as a new College building, the Learning Zone will house a new sixth-form college, the new Macclesfield High School, a sports centre and offer integration opportunities for secondary-age special needs students.

MORE CHOICE Described as a “world class facility”, the visionary concept aims to offer lifelong learning to the whole community as well as addressing local and regional skills needs.

The project is backed with £10 million of funding from the Cheshire and Warrington Learning and Skills Council and £5 million from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) Neil Wilton, Further Education (FE) Development Manager for the NWDA, says: “We believe that skills are a vital weapon in the armoury to achieve greater regional

competitiveness and prosperity and FE colleges play a pivotal role in delivering those skills.

“From the start, the NWDA recognised the strategic importance of the new Learning Zone, which is a prime example of vital investment in the FE sector.

The facility will provide enhanced learning environments, more choice for students and the local community and a lasting legacy for the area.”

The main College will include a Skills Centre offering vocational and occupational training for young people from the age of 14 and adults.

The fully inclusive sixth-form college, designed for 600 students from Macclesfield College, Henbury High School which is due for closure, and Park Lane Special School, will offer a combination of academic and vocational courses. Both are in line with the Government’s agenda for 14-19-year-olds.

Ken Reece, Marketing and External Relations Manager for Macclesfield College,

“FROM THE START, THE NWDA RECOGNISED THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF THE NEW LEARNING ZONE, WHICH IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF VITAL INVESTMENT IN THE FE SECTOR.” NEIL WILTON FURTHER EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT MANAGER FOR THE NWDA

explains: “The Learning Zone has already brought together all high schools in the town to work on a joint curriculum and it will clearly offer students great flexibility and choice to combine, for example, two A levels with a NVQ or BTEC qualification.”

Building work started in April and all students are expected to start the September 2007 term on the new campus, where an official opening is planned for May 2008.

For further information: email: neil.wilton@nwda.co.uk tel: 01925 400 100 www.learningzone.ac.uk

Model facility – Layout of the new learning zone complex

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SKILLS AND EDUCATION

WORKING TO CLOSE PRODUCTIVITY GAP Leaders of the three Northern regions are trying out fresh ideas to drive up skill levels and encourage the economically inactive back into work in an attempt to narrow the £30 billion output gap between the North and the rest of England.

Over the next two to three years the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) will join with Yorkshire Forward and One NorthEast in implementing innovative solutions to deeply entrenched problems that impact on economic competitiveness.

Using £20 million from the Northern Way Growth Fund, the three Regional Development Agencies aim to help more long-term Incapacity Benefit (IB) claimants back into employment, assist employers in offering higher level skills training and develop a stronger leadership culture across all sectors.

CUSTOMISED SUPPORT The Northwest accounts for £13 billion of the North’s £30 billion performance deficit of which £10 billion is due to lower productivity and £3 billion to fewer people working than the England average.

Two of the three new demonstrator projects – engaging long-term IB claimants and the establishment of a Northern Leadership Academy hosted by the University of Lancaster – are embedded as

transformational actions in the new Regional Economic Strategy.

The RDAs hope to gather evidence from the various initiatives to convince government that some national policies are too inflexible and need to be modified to meet the special needs of the North.

“We want to be able to prove to ministers that if they give us the flexibility to respond to what is a problem uniquely concentrated in the North they have a better chance of making their policies more effective,” explains Andrew Heydeman, the NWDA’s Skills and Employment Manager.

Project managers are demonstrating this bespoke approach in the £10 million programme to get IB claimants back onto the job ladder, £4 million of which is being invested in five Northwest projects. The Northern Way target is to bring 100,000 people back into employment by 2014.

Different packages of customised support, including post employment after-care, will be developed as projects roll out this year across the five areas.

In Knowsley, £1 million of Northern Way funding will enable the expansion of an existing programme (Knowsley Works) and the establishment of a dedicated outreach centre that will provide a resource for local claimants to receive support and mentoring

Community resource – Providing a dedicated outreach centre

Lancaster Leadership Centre – Home of the Northern Leadership Academy

ACADEMY LEADS THE WAY

as part of the back-to-work process.

In Greater Manchester the thrust will be on linking claimants with local job opportunities while in Liverpool-Wirral the focus is on black and ethnic minority communities.

In Barrow where there is a jobs shortage, the emphasis will be on entrepreneurship and self-employment and in Blackpool the project team will be dealing with issues like seasonal employment, drugs and alcohol addiction.

SKILLS TRAINING As Ron Pelleymounter, Northern Way Skills and Employment Manager, puts it – “We have to take the blinkers off and think of innovative ways of engaging with people so we can get many of these long-term claimants back into the employment fold.”

Skills training, a major factor in raising productivity levels, is also under the spotlight with the £100 million Northern Way Growth Fund providing £5 million across the three regions to help employers invest in their workforce.

Mainstream funding is currently only available for a first Level 2 qualification (equivalent to 5 GSCE at Grade C), not for a second Level 2, a situation that works against individuals wishing to retrain for a different occupation. There is a similar funding barrier at higher qualification levels.

The NWDA intends to use the new funding to provide financial incentives for employers in growth sectors like construction, engineering and logistics to be more flexible in their approach to training.

Heydeman likens it to ‘loss leader’ investment. “We hope that when employers begin to see the benefits to the bottom line they will be much more willing to make the investment themselves.”

For further information: email: andrew.heydeman@nwda.co.uk tel: Andrew Heydeman on 01925 644 220

Helping hands – Counselling can smooth the back-to-work process

PATHWAYS TO EMPLOYMENT Knowsley has been an early trailblazer in the drive to support Incapacity Benefit claimants into work. Building on the experience of long established and highly successful programmes, the ‘Knowsley Works’ project team will use Northern Way funding of £1 million to undertake a more targeted approach.

Instead of contacting claimants in job centres, an approach that hasn’t worked, the team are trying to engage claimants in more informal neighbourhood surroundings like schools, community centres, adult learning centres, health and sports facilities and GP clinics.

“We will be knocking on doors if we have to. It may take a while to build up trust but once we have we can point people towards different employment pathways,” explains Tracy Fishwick, Head of Employment Skills and Inclusion at Knowsley Borough Council.

The borough has 13,500 Incapacity Benefit claimants, one of the highest concentrations in the country. Some have not worked for 1520 years, a legacy of major manufacturing job losses in the 1980s and early 90s, and require careful guidance to raise their confidence levels and break the cycle of dependency.

The aim is to engage with up to 3,000 longterm claimants in the borough and support at least 400 back into employment within two years, part of a new strategy to raise the borough’s employment rate from 64% to 70% by 2010.

“Some people have written themselves off and believe no-one will want to employ them but that is not the case – we have supported people through Knowsley Works who are now holding down £40,000 a year jobs,” adds Tracy.

The £1 million funding package will be used as part of a wider £6 million programme in 2006/7 to provide customised support and advice for long-term unemployed people, including those on Incapacity Benefit.

Knowsley Works aims to help people to identify their own skills, employment and health needs as well as working on their wider aspirations – for themselves and their families.

The project team has close links with many employers to match job opportunities with those wanting to return to work.

For further information: email: tracy.fishwick@knowsley.gov.uk tel: 0151 443 5803 www.knowsley.gov.uk

Leadership development across a wide spectrum of society from business to faith groups has become a crucial element of the drive by the three Northern RDAs to narrow the NorthSouth prosperity gap.

A new £5 million flagship Northern Leadership Academy, funded by the Northern Way partners and hosted by the University of Lancaster with support from Liverpool University Management School and Leeds University Business School, will undertake the work.

A package of measures will be developed to improve the quality of leadership education and widen access to it. These include a ‘think tank’ to feed cutting edge ideas and research into mainstream provision.

Project Manager Anna Cockman says its aim is to bring clarity and coordination to leadership development across the North.

“The thinking is that if you improve leadership you boost the economy and increase productivity.”

Its role will be to evaluate training provision across the North, map and link all existing networks, develop a portal that will signpost small and medium sized enterprises and other organisations to what is on offer and tailor new products and programmes to the specific needs of the North’s key industries.

A search is underway for a Director and a Chair of the Steering Group. It is hoped the Academy will be self-supporting by 2008.

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PEOPLE AND JOBS NEWS Investment of over £60 million in two of the Regional Economic Strategy’s ‘transformational’ actions has been confirmed by the NWDA. Funding of £32.7 million is earmarked for the proposed new Museum of Liverpool and £30 million for the development of a Media Enterprise Zone in Greater Manchester.

Schemes to regenerate Wigton, Silloth and Aspatria have been given £1 million grant support from the NWDA as part of the Market Town Initiative. The North Allerdale Partnership will use the investment to improve career prospects for local people and support over 60 businesses.

Blackpool and Manchester are included in a shortlist of bids to become the home of the UK’s only regional casino.

The Blackpool proposal, centrepiece of an ambitious £2 billion renaissance masterplan that aims to generate 20,000 jobs, has won strong support from the NWDA. The Casino Advisory Panel’s shortlist for the large/small casinos also include Sefton.

Defra and the NWDA have invested £1.2 million in a package of measures aimed at connecting farming and food in the Northwest. Projects range from encouraging healthy eating in Cumbrian schools to helping Cheshire farmers tender for public sector contracts.

Funding of £900,000 from the NWDA will kickstart a comprehensive partnership-led regeneration programme at Carnforth that will create or safeguard nearly 30 jobs and provide 100 locally-based NVQ, vocational and work-based training programmes.

Lancaster City Council is providing match funding of £125,000.

Business will be a key beneficiary of a £1 million investment by the NWDA in a Market Town Initiative scheme to regenerate the North Allerdale area of Cumbria.

A similar investment package in Longtown in 2005 has already generated 15 new jobs and four new businesses.

KEEPING CULTURE CAPITAL ON THE MOVE Work has begun on the comprehensive regeneration of Liverpool’s Edge Lane corridor, a £350 million landmark project that will create a high quality eastern gateway route into the city in time for the 2008 Capital of Culture celebrations.

Major highway improvements being undertaken as part of the scheme will allow traffic to enter and leave the city along a modern tree-lined urban boulevard without the present serious congestion.

The long-awaited renaissance of Edge Lane will also see 550 new homes being built and the construction or refurbishment of over one million sq ft (93,000 sq m) of commercial and retail space and community facilities, features that will provide a better approach image for the thousands of visitors entering the city by car for the 2008 fiesta of fun.

GROWTH CATALYST These projects are expected to attract investment, particularly in the high value media and digital industries sector, create and safeguard 1,900 jobs and deliver important social benefits for the area.

David Waugh, Chief Executive of Liverpool Land Development Company (LLDC), who is coordinating the scheme on behalf of a number of partners including the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), believes the new gateway will act as a growth catalyst for the whole of eastern Liverpool.

“The significance of the Edge Lane corridor for the wider prosperity of Liverpool cannot be overstated,” he says.

The start of the transport programme to improve the link from the M62 and Liverpool City Centre has coincided with confirmation of the Edge Lane West Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO), which was the subject of a public inquiry in October 2005.

Announcing the CPO decision in February Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott referred to the “compelling need in the public interest” for the land in question – 9.88 hectares comprising 427 plots – to be compulsorily acquired.

The £60 million upgrading of a 3.75 km length of highway will eliminate traffic bottlenecks, particularly at St Cyprian’s Church, by transforming Edge Lane into a dual carriageway from the Rocket at the end of the M62 down to Hall Lane and remodelling junctions.

“It’s all about easing traffic flows and providing safe crossings, not about allowing drivers to increase their speed,” explains LLDC Development Manager Rob Monaghan.

“The goal will be to create a similar greening effect achieved on the southern gateway route at Speke Boulevard. It will be a complete reshaping of the eastern corridor.”

“THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EDGE LANE CORRIDOR FOR THE WIDER PROSPERITY OF LIVERPOOL CANNOT BE OVERSTATED.” DAVID WAUGH CHIEF EXECUTIVE, LIVERPOOL LAND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

UPGRADE TIMETABLE The improvements to Edge Lane break down three separate projects: I EDGE LANE CENTRAL

Heritage icon – The road scheme protects St. Cyprian’s Church

Under the CPO plan 380 houses in the Kensington area will be demolished and over 200 new homes built for local people and key workers.

The development includes sheltered accommodation, a new health centre and new retail facilities serving the local community.

Another aspect of the regeneration is the retention of the architectural heritage of the area including St Cyprian’s church.

PROJECT PARTNERS

The programme of environmental improvements will cover the planting of semi mature trees along the carriageways in the outer suburbs of the city, the installation of attractive street furniture and new lighting.

Regeneration of the whole corridor is expected to take 10-15 years and will lead to the renewal of both the economic and social fabric of the area.

The main components include the transformation of the MTL bus site into a Science Park, offering up to 260,000 sq ft of new space for offices and laboratories and the redevelopment of the former Littlewoods building by Urban Splash.

“People will see a huge amount of change in Edge Lane over the next two years and by the time we get to 2008 we will see the bulk of the road schemes completed,” declares Monaghan.

The other main partners in the project are Liverpool City Council, English Partnerships, Government Office for the North West (GONW) and the Department for Transport.

Bellway Homes is the city council’s preferred housing developer with the Langtree Group, Bellway’s partner for commercial development. Other groups involved include Kensington Regeneration, the Community 7 Housing Association and the New Heartlands Pathfinder.

For further information: email: rob.monaghan@liverpooldev.co.uk tel: 0151 494 2555 www.edgelane.info

(Rathbone Road to Botanic Road): the work started in April and will take 14 months to complete.

I EDGE LANE DRIVE (from the Rocket to Rathbone Road): work on this section will start in July and take 10 months.

I EDGE LANE WEST (from Botanic Road to Hall Lane); this project is due to start in October and will take 14 months to complete.

SPACE TO GROW Investment in new and refurbished business accommodation for tomorrow’s industries is an important piece of the Edge Lane development jigsaw.

In the past 12 months the NWDA, owner of the main four sites, has renovated another 10,000 sq ft (930 sq m) of space at Liverpool Digital to provide eight businesscentre-style units as grow on space for digital companies and is currently dealing with inquiries for all of them.

The Agency’s on-site management team will provide a hands-on management service for the new occupiers.

This brings the total amount of refurbished space on the site to 100,000 sq ft (9300 sq m).

Two lanes will be open during peak periods to minimise traffic congestion but Liverpool Land Development Company has warned of delays and disruptions over the next two years while the work is carried out.

It plans to keep businesses, residents and commuters informed about delays through a variety of methods including the Edge Lane website, emails, signage and a dedicated telephone information line.

Three tenants – Connect Internet Solutions Ltd, Liverpool John Moores University’s International Centre for Digital Content (ICDC) and its Digital incubator, currently occupy 70,000 sq ft (6,503 sq m).

By September the Agency will have 450,000 sq ft (42,000 sq m) of lettable buildings, 80,000 sq ft (7,400 sq m) of which is earmarked for the National Microsystems Packaging Centre.

“The additional space provides a great opportunity to attract major investment and create sustainable employment especially if its future use is in keeping with the science and technology concept,” reports Chris Morley, NWDA Senior Property Surveyor.

The Agency also owns the former MTL bus depot site and the Wavertree Technology Park, which will be integrated into a strategically important single 100acre (40 ha) site when a new link road from Edge Lane is built. That work will start later this year.

For further information: email: chris.morley@nwda.co.uk tel: Chris Morley 01925 400100 www.nwda.co.uk

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PEOPLE AND JOBS

CLEAN-UP UNLOCKS CUMBRIA POTENTIAL

New commercial, skills, innovation and research opportunities are emerging rapidly across the Northwest as the nuclear industry gears itself up for the brave new age of decommissioning, a task that could last over a century.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s decision to speed up the £70 billion clean-up process is expected to have a major beneficial economic impact on West Cumbria where five of the 20 civil nuclear sites in the programme are located.

In an early show of support for the region, the NDA is investing £20 million in three skills and research and development infrastructure projects and has pledged to work with key partners including the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), particularly on skills and education issues, to facilitate diversification.

DELIVERY ARM Working with the NDA, the Agency will be developing NUCLEUS, a training and business support centre to address the skills issues facing the nuclear sector.

This facility will be based at Lillyhall in West Cumbria and should form one of the first delivery arms of the new National Nuclear Skills Academy.

An epidemiology research group to study the long-term effects of radiation, and a

“WE ARE EXPECTING SUPPLY-CHAIN SPENDING TO INCREASE BY £120 MILLION TO £670 MILLION DURING 2006-07 AND IT’S QUITE CLEAR THERE WILL BE BIG OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL COMPANIES...”

ROSIE MATHISEN NUCLEAR OPPORTUNITIES MANAGER, WEST LAKES RENAISSANCE

Advance technology – A technician at work in Sellafield’s R&D Labs

satellite operation of the newly established Dalton Institute based at Westlakes Science and Technology Park are also in development.

NWDA Chief Executive Steven Broomhead believes these initiatives will “lay the foundations for a new industrial sector of real strength” in the Northwest based around nuclear decommissioning.

There is also good news on jobs as the NDA’s plan to accelerate the clean-up will mean more employees transferring from operations to decommissioning and a more gradual tapering off in employment.

The sale of British Nuclear Group to the private sector later this year is expected to inject more stability into the Sellafield operation since the successful bidder will also gain a five-year contract worth an indicative £5 billion to manage and operate the site.

TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW

NUCLEAR FACTFILE I Tackling the UK’s 60-year historic

nuclear legacy will run up costs of £62.7 billion. The NDA has also identified a further £7.5 billion of costs that will be included in the 2006-07 estimates I The sale of British Nuclear Group will

go ahead later this year with the new owner being given an incentivised contract for the management and operation of Sellafield worth an estimated £5 billion over five years I The Northwest contains 5 of the 20 sites

in the decommissioning programme and accounts for nearly £1.4 billion of the NDA’s £2.2 billion spend I Planned expenditure in 2006-07 will be

– Calder Hall (£20 million), Drigg (£17 million), Sellafield (£1202 million, Springfields (£117 million) and Windscale (£30 million)

Safe storage – Sellafield waste packaging and encapsulation plant

Working with US operator Westinghouse, the NDA has also been able to extend the life of the Springfields fuel manufacturing plant at Preston for a further 8-10 years allowing it to win business in Canada for its fuel products. This will safeguard 150 jobs.

A clearer picture has emerged of the socioeconomic potential of decommissioning following a public briefing by Dr Ian Hudson, the NDA’s Director of Technology and Skills, at the launch of the revised Regional Economic Strategy at the Reebok Stadium.

He told 700 stakeholders at the Bolton event that the UK’s approach to the decommissioning and environmental restoration is “one of the most innovative in the world.”

Competition and innovation, he said, were key elements in the NDA’s plan for coping with the huge technical challenges presented by the clean-up programme.

“If the Northwest can demonstrate that it can add value and play a key part in delivering that mission there will be great opportunities in the years ahead for the region’s economy to export that technical know-how to North America and Europe.”

A number of overseas companies, notably

from the US, have established a presence in the region to compete for decommissioning contracts. In April the Low Level Waste Repository (LLW) at Drigg became the first site to be offered for competition.

The NDA was established in April 2005 as part of the biggest shake-up in the nuclear industry since the 1970s. It has created 150 jobs in the region including 130 in West Cumbria where it now has its headquarters.

Skills are at the heart of the clean-up programme and the crucial drive to diversify Cumbria’s business base, says Dr Hudson.

“The key thing is to develop skills for the nuclear industry, not nuclear industry skills, so they can be transferred into other sectors, like engineering, construction, and oil and gas.”

BIG OPPORTUNITIES Rosie Mathisen, Nuclear Opportunities Manager with West Lakes Renaissance, the urban regeneration company funded by the NWDA, predicts a “mini-boom” in West Cumbria as the NDA forces the pace of decommissioning.

“We are expecting supply-chain spending to increase by £120 million to £670 million during 2006-07 and it’s quite clear there will be big opportunities for local companies if they can ramp up to meet market demands.”

Supply chain specialists are currently working with 20 local companies to help them improve their chances of securing a slice of the increased business.

With the British Nuclear Group rationalising the number of its suppliers, small firms are being encouraged to team together to win contracts. Small and medium sized enterprises working in the region’s aerospace industry have already adopted this approach and the NWDA is looking how to spread best practice to the nuclear sector.

For further information: tel: NDA Communications Team 01925 802071 www.nda.gov.uk

Science partners – Industry-academia alliances are increasing

INVESTING IN KNOW-HOW The NDA is committing £20 million to three infrastructure projects with the aim of keeping the region at the forefront of the nuclear industry. The money will be invested in: NUCLEUS (£5 million) – one of the delivery arms of the National Nuclear Skills Academy. A brand new facility due to open at Lillyhall in West Cumbria in 2007, it will work with the Lakes College to provide vocational training at Apprentice, NVQ and Foundation Degree level.

New Chair in Epidemiology (£5million) – a partnership between the NDA, the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and Westlakes Research Institute that will study health and safety issues arising from the decommissioning process.

Nuclear Insititute (£10 million) – the NDA has signed an agreement with the University of Manchester to establish a satellite extension of the newly established Dalton Institute. Based at Westlakes it will comprise two research groups, one in radiation science, with the other in decommissioning.

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INFRASTRUCTURE NEWS Funding of £716,000 is being provided by the NWDA for vital infrastructure improvements to the Port of Workington.

The investment will involve refurbishing one of the port’s berths and infrastructure around the rail freight container park.

East Manchester’s Medlock Valley, a 90-ha public open space, is to receive a £1.7 million grant from the NWDA for a three-year programme of work that will enhance the whole area including Clayton Vale and Phillips Park, the first municipal park in the world. The historic packhorse bridge will be restored as part of the project.

Extra government funding of £260 million is being channelled into revitalising rundown housing in three Northwest areas.

The money will go to Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder schemes in Merseyside (£97.7 million), East Lancashire (£94.9 million) and Oldham/Rochdale (£67.5 million). Average house prices in pathfinder areas have doubled since 2002.

CHAMPIONS OF GOOD DESIGN Even the under fives are part of the Northwest’s ‘grand design’ for the regeneration of its built environment.

Good design principles are being promoted throughout the region via initiatives involving youngsters of all ages as well as planners, architects and design champions.

And there are many groups keen to see the Northwest lead the way in

“WE MUST HAVE HIGH CLASS DESIGN, GOOD QUALITY ENVIRONMENT AND A REGARD TO THE MAKING OF A PLACE IF WE WANT TO ATTRACT INVESTMENT AND ACHIEVE OUR REGENERATION GOALS FOR THE FUTURE.” HEATHER EMERY HEAD OF DESIGN AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT, NWDA

– particularly publicly-funded projects – at an early stage to help to shape their design.

“The idea is to have a central pool of around 50 panel members who can be selected for local appraisals,” says Heather.

“It is important that our sub-regions and cities are involved in developments in their own different areas.”

The Agency is also working with CABE, the government’s advisor on architecture, urban design and public space, RENEW Northwest, established by the NWDA, and regional partners such as CUBE in Manchester and RIBA NW to engage young people in the design debate.

WORK IN SCHOOLS Phil Barton, Director of RENEW Northwest, says: “We are continuing and expanding our work in schools, right down to the under fives in Sure Start, as well as primary and secondary schools. We work mainly with teachers who in turn can integrate design into the curriculum.”

He believes that helping young people and the public in general to understand the

importance of good design and the significance of buildings in their region is “a crucial component of the drive to raise standards and quality of life in the Northwest.”

RENEW Northwest is also hoping to establish a programme of school visits to high profile developments in the region, which could include The Lowry at Salford, City of Manchester Stadium and Liverpool’s Kings Dock, in which an architect or designer involved in the building would be present.

The Design & Heritage Champions Network, an on-line network established in 2004, is yet another piece of the jigsaw and more than two-thirds of the 47 local authorities in the Northwest now have a design champion.

They will play a more prominent role in the future, says Heather Emery who is involved in a programme of events including visits to housing and heritage projects.

The NWDA organised a design-led conference in the Lake District in April, which explored the need for the region to embrace contemporary design.

“The debate was welcomed by the

Resort makeover – Regeneration has improved St. Anne’s

The redevelopment of Barrow-inFurness has moved a stage closer thanks to a £5 million investment by NWDA. The money has enabled the acquisition of 40-ha of land from Associated British Ports by Barrow Borough Council and Cumbria County Council.

Bidston Moss in Birkenhead is to be redeveloped and managed as a new public recreation facility and community woodland as part of the wider ‘Newlands’ regeneration project.

Funding of £2 million from the NWDA and its partners will transform the 40-ha former landfill site into a new Mersey Waterfront Regional Park visitor attraction.

demonstrating the economic value of welldesigned developments, high calibre architecture and inspirational public art.

Heather Emery, Head of Design and Built Environment at the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) believes good design is an essential element of regeneration.

“We must have high class design, good quality environment and a regard to the making of a place if we want to attract investment and achieve our regeneration goals for the future,” she says.

In April, the NWDA commissioned AMION Consulting, a regeneration consultancy team, and Liverpool architects/ urban designers Taylor Young to evaluate the economic impact of good design in the region. They are currently assessing previous studies and examining Northwest case studies.

Plans are also underway to establish a regional design panel, embracing professionals including surveyors, architects, landscape architects and artists, to examine development proposals

RESORT LEADS THE WAY

Architectural flagship – The Lowry at Salford Quays

Created by the Victorians as a ‘garden town by the sea’ in 1875, the Lancashire Fylde coast resort of St Anne’s is now midway through a ten-year regeneration programme, already recognised with two national awards.

Using a strong design-led approach, which makes attractive use of spaces and improved public realm, the programme has had a dramatic effect both on the physical appearance of the resort’s centre and on demand for previously vacant premises, often by new businesses.

Paul Drinnan, Head of Regeneration and Urban Design for Fylde Borough Council,

says: “Each resort is different and it is important to celebrate that fact. We have tried to understand what St Anne’s is really about and to give it its own contemporary character rather than seeking solutions which have been tried elsewhere and applying them here.” He believes it is important “to use some ingenuity and not to be afraid to push the boundaries.”

As a result the programme was named overall winner of English Partnerships’ award for Partnership in Regeneration and was named as one of five winners in the British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA) 2005 Awards.

National Park and many people involved in tourism,” says Heather Emery. “We want to draw on good examples from Europe – we want to be brave about how we use design in the Lake District.”

For further information: email: heather.emery@nwda.co.uk tel: 01925 400100 www.renew.co.uk High profile design – The City of Manchester Stadium

PROPERTY OSCARS Stockport’s Staircase House, dating from the late medieval period, repaired and adapted as a museum, was named Building of the Year in the recent Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Northwest Awards.

Other category winners: I Community Benefit – Burnley Youth Theatre I Commercial – No 1 Spinningfield Square, Manchester I Tourism and Leisure – Seacombe Ferry Terminal, Wirral I Sustainability – The Solaris centre, Blackpool I Residential – Homeswap, Salford I Regeneration – Ropeworks, Liverpool

Celebration time – Stockport’s Staircase House is Building of the Year.

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INFRASTRUCTURE Cruising ahead – Developing a world-class port of call

“THIS IS A MOMENTOUS DAY FOR THE COUNCIL AND THE WHOLE OF THE NORTHWEST REGION. WE HAVE CAMPAIGNED FOR MORE THAN TEN YEARS FOR THIS GATEWAY WHICH WILL BE OUR BRIDGE TO PROSPERITY.” TONY McDERMOTT LEADER, HALTON BOROUGH COUNCIL

NEW GATEWAYS TO PROSPERITY Cruise passengers and commuters are set to embark on a new love affair with the River Mersey.

While visitors will soon enjoy arriving alongside a ‘World Heritage’ waterfront, road users will relish shorter journey times thanks to a new river crossing.

Work started in April on a new £19 million cruise liner facility at Liverpool’s Pier Head to enable the world’s biggest liners to dock alongside the waterfront, carrying an extra 25,000 visitors a year to the city.

In the same month, Transport Secretary Alistair Darling approved government funding of £209 million for the Mersey Gateway – a second bridge over the river at Runcorn.

The new crossing will ease the burden on the existing Runcorn to Widnes Silver Jubilee Bridge which carries around 80,000 vehicles a day – ten times more than intended – cutting 10 to 20 minutes off the average journey time.

Both projects will have a major impact on the regional economy: the cruise liner facility creating employment and boosting the tourism and maritime industries in Liverpool, and the crossing creating new business opportunities by cutting journey times and improving accessibility.

INCREASED SPEND It will also extend significantly the passenger catchment area of Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

In September 2007, the QE2 will sail up the Mersey to celebrate her 40th anniversary and will host the official opening of the cruise liner

facility, which is planned to be operational in spring next year.

The 250-metre long landing stage will mean that passengers can disembark directly on to the Pier Head, instead of the current practice of being ferried from mid-river.

Based on evidence of an average spend of £40 per visit ashore, early estimates – currently being revised – suggest the facility will bring an extra £15 million into the local economy in the first five years, rising to £60-70 million over

25 years. It will also create around 100 jobs.

Development partners include the Liverpool City Council, Peel Holdings (after their successful takeover of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company), the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), Liverpool Vision, City Focus, Government Office for the North West and the Mersey Waterfront Regional Park.

Funding is shared by the Merseyside Objective One programme and the NWDA, which is investing £9.9 million in the project.

BRIDGE FUNDING “BOTH PROJECTS WILL UNDOUBTEDLY MAKE A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE REGIONAL ECONOMY.” STEVEN BROOMHEAD CHIEF EXECUTIVE, NWDA

The Mersey Gateway has been granted ‘programme entry approval’ for major transport schemes, which currently aims for bridge completion in 2014. Halton Borough Council, the principal promoters, will explore options for an earlier date although a public inquiry is likely before final government approval is granted.

Tony McDermott, Leader of the Council, says: “This is a momentous day for the council and the whole of the Northwest region. We have campaigned for more than ten years for this Gateway which will be our bridge to prosperity.”

The proposed £305 million tolled bridge – “a spectacular piece of urban architecture”

– will be a three-lane dual carriageway from the Central Expressway in Runcorn to the Eastern Bypass in Widnes.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS It will be built 1.5 – 2 km east of the existing bridge, which will be reduced to two lanes to allow pedestrians and cyclists a safer crossing and give priority to public transport.

The Department for Transport has agreed an £86 million grant for the acquisition of land and necessary decontamination work and Private Finance Initiative (PFI) credits of £123 million will fund performance-related payments to the developer to supplement toll revenue.

Estimates of the economic impact of the Mersey Gateway are impressive: £633 million of financial net benefits through reduced travel costs and journey times and the creation of 4,590 extra direct jobs.

Halton Borough Council is part of the public/ private Mersey Partnership, which members feel was a “key factor” in convincing Government of the economic benefits of a new bridge.

Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the NWDA says: “Both projects will undoubtedly make a significant contribution to the regional economy. “ For further information on the Mersey Gateway: email: paul.lakin@nwda.co.uk tel: 01925 400 100 www.merseycrossing.co.uk

BOOSTING CRUISE BUSINESS Liverpool’s new cruise manager, Angie Redhead, has returned to her native city after 12 years working in tourism overseas to develop the city into a world-class port of call. She aims to attract liners to the new facility by providing their passengers with a tempting range of on-shore excursions.

“We want to show there is more to Liverpool than the Beatles,” says Angie who is already developing ‘bespoke experiences’ including 1920s Rolls Royce tours, helicopter flights and trips based around the area’s heritage, shopping and sport including football, racing and golf.

“Where passengers are on a themed cruise – we have one next year based around antiques – we will aim to offer

specific excursions which match their interest,” she says.

She already has confirmation of the first liner’s call alongside the new facility on May 24 2007 – the Japanese liner Asuka II carrying 1,000 passengers – and is hoping calls will rise steadily to 26 in 2010 and 35 in 2012.

Angie is also developing a “crews’ news” to be emailed to each crew member, listing essential on-shore information as well as ten places to see.

For further information email: emily.smith@nwda.co.uk tel: 01925 400100 www.visitliverpool.com/cruise

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QUALITY OF LIFE NEWS Chester’s Green Bough Hotel has won the title of the ‘Best Small Hotel in England’ at the Enjoy England Awards for Excellence 2006. Silver trophies for being highly recommended went to the City of Manchester Stadium (business tourism), Combermere Abbey (self catering) and Liverpool Biennial (tourism experience).

NATURAL WAY TO ENJOY LIFE

Creative young people in fashion, film, music, design and other art forms have been invited to showcase their talents in a unique new online arts festival supported by the Northwest Regional Development Agency and the Arts Council NW. The central hub of activity will take place on the NOISE website in October.

VISITOR MARKET

Another Place, the set of figures at Crosby Beach, Sefton, by sculptor Antony Gormley won the ‘Best Tourism Experience’ award at The Mersey Partnership’s Annual Tourism Awards.

Thornton Hall Hotel and Spa, Wirral, was named as the ‘Best Large Hotel’ and Hope Street Hotel, Liverpool, took the main honour in the ‘Best Small Hotel’ category.

Cumbria Tourist Board is aiming to woo the next generation of visitors by sending a text message inviting them to order the board’s flagship 2006 Holiday and Short Breaks guide. It is hoped the innovative text-a-brochure campaign will appeal to those over the age of 24 who use their mobile phones for a variety of services.

Organisers of the Kendal Mountain Book Festival in November will host the prestigious Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature, which is moving to Cumbria from the Alpine Club in London where it has been based since its inception in 1983. The £2000 prize celebrates the lives of two of Britain’s leading Himalayan climbers.

Manchester has moved up the ranking as a successful conference destination.

In a survey carried out by the International Congress and Convention Association in 2005, Manchester was the 49th most successful destination, ten places higher than in 2004 when it appeared in the top 100 rankings for the first time.

Leaders of the region’s £7 billion tourism industry are stepping up their efforts to exploit the money-spinning appeal of the Northwest’s rich diversity of flora and fauna.

Effective marketing of the natural environment could generate additional spend of up to £115 million a year and up to 4,600 jobs as well as dramatically improving the region’s image, according to a new study of the sector’s potential.

Responding to the challenge, the Northwest Regional Development Agency and its partners have begun to implement an ambitious three-year action plan to capitalise on the region’s natural assets.

The return of breeding ospreys to Bassenthwaite Lake in 2001 after an absence of 150 years, exemplifies the value of such attractions. In 2003 the fish-eating birds attracted 100,000 visitors to the two viewing areas hatching an estimated nest egg of £1.7 million for the local economy.

Ideas being developed following the report include a new natural tourism website containing innovative features like downloadable pod-casts, a sustained PR campaign, the appointment of a product development manager and the creation of an Interpretation Challenge Fund.

Commissioned by the NWDA with support from English Nature, the new study by the Edinburgh-based tourism consultants TEAM identifies two distinct target segments of the visitor market – affluent UK ‘Cosmopolitans’ and ‘Traditionals’ or empty nesters.

One of the barriers to eco-tourism growth, suggests the report, is the limited number – estimates vary between 25 and 50 – of commercial operators with products based around the region’s natural assets. This contrasts with Scotland where there are some 150 businesses selling and promoting ecology tourism.

Actions to support and expand the Northwest’s nature-based economy include the sustainable nurturing of small operators and

THE NWDA STUDY LISTS A NUMBER OF FEATURES THAT MAKE THE NORTHWEST ARGUABLY “ENGLAND’S BEST NATURAL ENVIRONMENT”

ENGLAND’S FINEST...

I 29% OF THE NORTHWEST IS NATIONAL

PARK OR AREAS OF OUTSTANDING BEAUTY I ONLY PLACE IN ENGLAND TO SEE

GOLDEN EAGLES I ONE OF THE FEW PLACES WITH RED

Natural playground – The region has some of the finest coastline in Britain

increased collaboration between site owners, environmental interests and tourist boards.

“We are in the very early stages of using nature as a product and challenging people’s perceptions about the Northwest being a post-industrial urban-dominated region,” says Nick Brooks-Sykes, the NWDA’s Head of Tourism Marketing.

A mapping of the region’s natural assets paints a radically different picture with 29% of total land area covered by National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

CONTRASTING LANDSCAPES The report also provides rich detail on the contrasting landscapes and the variety of animal and plant life to be found in the lakes, rivers, coastal habitats, forests, bogs, limestone hills and nature reserves that make the region so distinctive.

It identifies 16 natural recreation zones running from the upland rolling moors just south of the Scottish border to the meres and sandstone ridges of Cheshire.

It also lists 45 sites where popular species like the golden eagle, red squirrel, hen harrier, and natterjack toad can be found.

“At a lot of these sites there is little or no opportunity for people to spend money”, observes Brooks-Sykes, “so we need to identify where the natural honeypots are and how best to exploit their potential as a

visitor experience in a sustainable manner.”

The study highlights the need for investment in improved environmental and heritage interpretation and development of products and services around the natural environment.

Successful implementation of a comprehensive support programme could have sizeable economic impact boosting the value of leisure tourism in the region by 1-5% over three years, according to the study.

This would give a knock-on annual additional spend of between £25 million and £115 million and an estimated rise in employment of between 1,024 and 4,608 jobs with rural areas enjoying better paid jobs.

Signposting will be an import element of the eco-tourism drive. The planned website promoting the region’s natural assets will link potential short break visitors with food and drink and hotel attractions.

“We need to give people pointers on how to maximise their enjoyment of natural attractions like Cheshire’s Delamere Forest,” explains Brooks-Sykes. “Visitors will want to know where to park and where to get a good pint. It’s all about joining up the dots.”

For further information: email: nick.brooks-sykes@nwda.co.uk tel: Nick Brooks-Sykes 01925 400100 www.nwda.co.uk

SQUIRRELS AND OTTERS I LARGEST LAKES AND MOUNTAINS

IN ENGLAND I LONGEST STRETCH OF

UNDEVELOPED COASTLINE I 5 INTERNATIONALLY IMPORTANT

ESTUARIES FOR OVER WINTERING BIRDS I 23 GEOGRAPHICAL SITES OF SPECIAL

SCIENTIFIC INTEREST I LARGEST AREA OF REMOTE AND

TRANQUIL COUNTRY IN ENGLAND Golden nest egg – Bassenthwaite’s ospreys have boosted visitor spend

WALKERS PARADISE

Dean Halsall gave up a career in IT to run his own small tour company specialising in guided walks – the sort of enterpriseminded individual the region’s tourist boards would like to cultivate.

From April to October he shepherds parties of 10-12 walkers across some of England’s most breathtaking landscapes.

The Wigan-based family business, Northwestwalks, also organises support for self-guided walking holidays.

Half of the clients come from overseas, mainly the US and Australia, proof, he says, of the “remarkable pulling power of

the Lake District”.

Most of the business comes from Alfred Wainwright’s famous 190-mile Coast-to-Coast walk (St. Bees Head to Robin Hood Bay) with a lesser share coming from routes like the Pennines and the Pendle Way. Established six years ago, the company works with the Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board and Cumbria Tourist Board in a sustainable way and sells its two-week walking packages over the Internet or by advertising in specialist outdoor magazines.

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QUALITY OF LIFE Golfing specacular – The world’s top golfers are heading for Hoylake

REGION HITS WINNING STREAK The Northwest has further strengthened its glowing international reputation for staging high-profile sporting spectaculars by securing another two prestigious championship events.

Manchester’s success in winning partnership bids to host both the 2007 European Hockey Championships and the 2008 World Squash Championships is seen as further evidence of the powerful legacy left by the XVII Commonwealth Games.

They join an already impressive list of world-class sporting events that will be heading for the region in the next few years.

They include the World Short Course Swimming Championships (Manchester), the European Boxing Championships (Liverpool), and the finish of the Tour of Britain cycle race (Liverpool), all in 2008.

BIDDING FOR SUCCESS Salford is also bidding to host the Triathlon World Championships in 2010 on the back of strong support from UK Sport and the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA). The city has already established itself as the UK home of worldclass triathlon events.

The 2002 Commonwealth Games demonstrated that big sporting occasions could have a huge economic, social and

cultural spin-off as well as inspiring home grown athletes, and a Regional Major Events Strategy has since been launched to exploit that potential.

Some organisations bid for sporting events on their own while others rely on the marketing and financial support of the NWDA where the regional economic impact benchmark for support is generally £1 million.

Events supported by the Agency in the past year generated £16 million for the region and 13.5 hours of national and international television coverage, an important factor in building a more positive brand image for the Northwest.

This year’s British Open Golf Championship at Hoylake in July is expected to attract an estimated 200,000 visitors and hopefully go some way to matching the £72 million generated for Scotland by last year’s Open at St. Andrews.

The World Swimming Championships, which will be staged in a temporary pool in Manchester’s MEN Arena, are expected to be worth £5 million to the region followed by the Men’s and Women’s European Hockey which could generate over £3 million.

Held over nine days at Belle Vue, Manchester, in August 2007, the hockey tournament is a direct qualification route to

the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

UK Sport is contributing £262,000 from its Lottery-funded World Class Events Programme towards the cost of staging the event. The bid took six months to prepare and submit.

Over £600,000 will be invested by a number of partners, including the NWDA, in delivering the 2008 World Squash Championships at the world-renowned National Squash Centre at Sportcity from 11-19 October, 2008.

“These events cost a lot to stage and we are in a very competitive international market because locations around the world are bidding for them,” explains Sheldon Phillips, Partnership Marketing Manager for the NWDA. Events like the Tour of Britain, which this year will have one of the stages starting in Blackpool and ending in Liverpool, provide “fantastic image building opportunities,” says Phillips, “because they open the window of national and international TV exposure for the region.”

SURVEY REVEALS UPBEAT TRENDS Perceptions of the Northwest as a place to live, visit and do business have shown a steady, and in some areas significant improvement, over the past five years, according to a new, innovative survey carried out by Ipsos MORI. More British people who live outside the region now associate the Northwest with ‘success’ (35% against 22% in a 2001 baseline survey). Only one in seven (14%) now think of it in terms of ‘failure’ compared to a previous one in four (22%).

Business leaders are equally positive about the Northwest’s business credentials with 62% rating the region as a fairly good or very good location to run a business, a 17% increase on the finding revealed in a second survey in 2003.

UK businesses are also more positive about the economic outlook for the Northwest than the UK as a whole over the next 12 months.

OPTIMISTIC PICTURE Ipsos MORI tested opinions of 1,000 local residents, business and key opinion formers as well as those of 1,900 respondents outside the region to help the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) understand how perceptions of the Northwest differ between those who live and work in the region and those who live outside it.

Bobby Duffy, Research Director at MORI, said the study provided a much deeper understanding of how the region was seen to be changing and “paints a very positive and optimistic picture compared to other regions of the UK and elsewhere.”

Researchers found there was a huge amount of pride in the region by opinion formers with 87% agreeing that they are proud to be associated with the Northwest, a jump of 20%.

Commenting on the upbeat findings, Peter Mearns, the NWDA’s Director of Marketing, said: “People see the physical changes that are taking place and that has a huge positive influence on their views.

Business people in particular sense this is a region that is moving faster than other areas of the UK.” Business leaders were questioned about the factors influencing investment decisions

from quality of public services to the quality of nightlife.

The Northwest rated highly on areas of outstanding natural beauty, culture, nightlife and availability of graduates. It performed less strongly in the factors that largely determine locational investment, such as a lower cost base where the region’s competitive advantage compared to other regions has been eroded.

Ipsos MORI found evidence that UK business leaders still perceive the Northwest to be a traditional manufacturing region (ie: textiles), a view that does not accord with reality, says Mearns.

“Manufacturing is still an important part of the industrial-make-up of the region but it is now more knowledge-based and high tech than traditional.”

Perceived strengths of the region remain largely the same as in 2003 and 2001 for Northwest residents. Friendly people and good community spirits are still the top choices (38%) with nice countryside mentioned by a quarter (26%).

The main message from the findings, says Mearns, is that people are more optimistic about the economy than other regions.

“The perception gap is closing but there is still a lot of work to do shift long established, ingrained beliefs.”

For further information: email: peter.mearns@nwda.co.uk tel: 01925 400100 www.nwda.co.uk

For further information: email: sheldon.phillips@nwda.co.uk tel: Sheldon Phillips 01925 400100 www.nwda.co.uk

“PEOPLE SEE THE PHYSICAL CHANGES THAT ARE TAKING PLACE AND THAT HAS A HUGE POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON THEIR VIEWS. BUSINESS PEOPLE IN PARTICULAR SENSE THIS IS A REGION THAT IS MOVING FASTER THAN OTHER AREAS OF THE UK.” PETER MEARNS DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, NWDA

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NOTEBOOK

PEOPLE IN THE REGION

Recommendation for education chief Interim Chief Executive of Liverpool City Council, Colin Hilton, has been recommended to officially take up the reins of the top post from July onwards.

Council leader Warren Bradley and a team of senior councillors made the recommendation to appoint Mr Hilton, which will now go before a full meeting of the city council to be ratified.

The Merseyside-born former teacher worked in local government in Buckinghamshire and Knowsley and was Director of Education and Leisure for St Helens before joining the city council in October 1999.

Mr Hilton, who acted as an education advisor to the Local Government Association and was a member of the Tomlinson Working Group on 14-19 education, is also a director of the Regional Broadband Consortium for ICT, Chair of Liverpool Children and Young People's Partnership and a governor of Liverpool Community College.

He was awarded the CBE in the 2006 New Year Honours for services to education.

MMU installation ceremony

New health leaders named Sir David Henshaw, former Chief Executive of Liverpool City Council, has been appointed the Chair of the new North West Strategic Health Authority (SHA), which is to oversee health services in the largest region outside London.

The new SHA’s Chief Executive is Mike Farrar, previously Chief Executive of West Yorkshire SHA, and chief architect of the new GP contract. They will take up their posts when the authority becomes effective on July 1.

Sir David who helped lead Liverpool’s successful bid to become the 2008 European Capital of Culture is currently redesigning the national child support system, including the Child Support Agency.

The North West SHA replaces three existing SHAs, those covering Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside, and Cumbria and Lancashire. Together they provide services for a population of nearly seven million.

Preserving history

New members for Park body Joanne Whitaker, Regional Director of ENCAMS, which runs the Keep Britain Tidy campaign, is one of three new members of the Lake District National Park Authority.

Joining her is Dr Paul Nicholson, a physician who led World-wide Development for SmithKline Beecham and Bryan Gray, Chairman of the NWDA, who is also Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lancaster and a member of the national Learning and Skills Council.

Figures from the worlds of government, business, science, education and the arts attended the installation of Professor John Brooks as the third Vice Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University, one of the UK’s largest and most popular universities.

During the ‘swearing-in’ ceremony in the Great Hall of Manchester Town Hall Professor Brooks outlined a £300 million programme to modernise facilities for

Sir David Henshaw

West Lakes New Chair

Harborow steps up

Mike Farrar

Liverpool-born Louise O’Brien is the new Manager of the Historic Environment of Liverpool Project (HELP). So far the project has raised £8 million of public investment and as much private money to help repair the city’s historic buildings and bring them back into use.

She spent four years at the BBC managing a project to help the broadcaster find new ways of engaging with the public.

It saw her working with schools and organisations across Merseyside to put the creative use of communications technology at the heart of teaching and learning.

Jason Harborow, moves from his role as Chief Operating Officer for Liverpool Culture Company to become Chief Executive with overall responsibility for the delivery of events and programmes for European Capital of Culture 2008.

He has been at the forefront of leading sporting events and initiatives for the last 15 years. His career has included high-profile roles as Operations Director of the Rugby League World Cup and Commercial General Manager of the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Businessman Bob Watson has agreed to become the new Chair of West Lakes Renaissance, which has the task of stimulating economic regeneration in the main urban centres along the west coast of Cumbria. His appointment coincides with new infrastructure investments at Barrow and Workington.

In the last decade his career has taken him all over the world, running businesses headquartered in Stirlingshire, Lancashire and Kent.

He moved to Cumbria in 1995 as Managing Director of Iggesund Paperboard before taking on similar challenges with CSC Forest Products (chipboard and furniture), IHDG UK (wallpaper) and Sericol (Inks).

Since selling his interest in Sericol he has decided to spend more time working to improve the prosperity of Cumbria where he and his wife have a home.

Tony Blair with Stephanie Lynch (centre) and her mother. Stephanie is the young climate change champion for the Northwest

Climate change champion Stephanie Lynch, 16, a student at Carmel College, St. Helens, is the climate change champion for the Northwest. Her reward was a meeting with the Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Chief Scientist Sir David King.

She was one of nine winners chosen from 600 entries following a governmentsponsored competition asking them to use different types of media to communicate the threats of climate change in their regions and the role young people can play in tackling it.

students and contribute to the prosperity of the wider community.

With 33,000 students and a turnover of £200 million, MMU’s impact on the local community is an estimated £700 million.

Acclaimed for his scientific research applied physics and materials technology, Professor Brooks was formerly ViceChancellor of the University of Wolverhampton.

He is a strong advocate of vocational education and widening participation.

Stephanie entered a television news report on climate change. She wants to raise awareness that global warming is linked to the economy and the consumerism of developed countries and would like the government to tackle emission from industry.

The winners will have a number of engagements throughout the year, including a fact-find tour to Switzerland to witness the effects of climate change at the Gurschen glacier. Stephanie’s entry can be viewed on www.climatechallenge.gov.uk

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EVENTS

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

GETTING IN TOUCH At the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), we value your views and feedback.

Visit www.nwda.co.uk & www.visitenglandsnorthwest.com

KEY CONTACTS

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

OCTOBER

11

NORTH WEST REGIONAL ASSEMBLY JUL ANNUAL CONFERENCE

4

Main speaker – EU Commissioner for the Regions Danuta Hubner Park Royal Hotel, Warrington

Setting the record straight on the region’s economic progress MICC, Manchester

19-23

OTHER KEY EVENTS

RHS FLOWER SHOW

Plenty of useful tips for the amateur gardener Tatton Park, Cheshire

20

JUL

BRITISH OPEN GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

A welcome return to the Royal Liverpool GC after 39 years Hoylake, Cheshire

29

CLIPPER ROUND THE WORLD JUL YACHT RACE End of an epic 35,000-mile ocean adventure Liverpool

30

JUL

TOUR OF BRITAIN, NORTHWEST STAGE

Bracing start for Britain’s biggest bike race Blackpool to Liverpool

Mecca of entertainment – Liverpool’s Pierhead hosts many big events

30

SALFORD TRIATHLON ITU JUL WORLD CUP A gruelling test of stamina Salford Quays

SEPTEMBER

13

JUL

6

AUG

BURA MANCHESTER CONFERENCE

SEP

LGA ANNUAL RURAL CONFERENCE

SOUTHPORT FLOWER SHOW Victoria Park, Southport

26-28 AUG

Liverpool PRIDE OF CUMBRIA BUSINESS OCT AWARDS

14

Rheged, Penrith

IOD NORTHWEST DIRECTOR OF THE SEP YEAR AWARDS

OCT

Flower power – Thousands make the trek to the Tatton Park show

PETER MEARNS Director of Marketing

MARK HUGHES Executive Director, Enterprise and Innovation

FIONA MILLS Director of HR, Organisational Change & Development

PETER WHITE Executive Director, Infrastructure

PATRICK WHITE Director of Corporate Policy and Performance

HEAD OFFICE The NWDA manages all operations from its Headquarters at:

LIVERPOOL BIENNIAL

Contemporary visual arts festival over 10 weeks Over 40 venues

SEP

IAN HAYTHORNTHWAITE Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Resources

THE TASTE DISTRICT FOOD & DRINK FESTIVAL

BBC presenter Fiona Bruce joins the celebrations City of Manchester Stadium

24-28

FRAN HULBERT Director of Skills Policy

Carlisle Racecourse

7-8

SEP

BERNICE LAW Chief Operating Officer, Deputy Chief Executive

MATTHEW STREET MUSIC FESTIVAL

How the big issues impact rural areas Chester Racecourse

16-25

JAMES BERRESFORD Director of Tourism

City of Manchester Stadium

6 12

STEVEN BROOMHEAD Chief Executive

HEAD OFFICE 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

LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE

Politics forsakes the seaside for an inland venue MICC & GMEX, Manchester

Rheged – Annual food and drink showcase

PRINT STOCK: 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.

Designed and produced by Kaleidoscope ADM, Liverpool. www.kadm.co.uk NWDA KADM 06/06 19862

JUL

NWDA ANNUAL CONFERENCE OCT & AGM

The NWDA’s Executive Team are based at its Headquarters and can be contacted on tel: +44 (0)1925 400100

Having the most museums and art galleries outside London is impressive.

One of them is breathtaking.

Antony Gormley’s ‘Another Place’ in South Sefton.

Liverpool. European Capital of Culture ’08. www.liverpool08.com