Strengthening local transport networks within northern England’s city regions must be prioritised over delivering large scale inter-city links for a successful ‘Northern Powerhouse’ to be created, a new report has warned.

 

The report by think tank Centre for Cities compares the North of England to the Rhine-Ruhr region in Germany and the Ranstad region in the Netherlands.

 

It demonstrates that the economic success of these regions is driven by the strong performance of their individual cities, not as a result of extensive connections between them.

 

“We can’t build a successful Northern Powerhouse without stronger, more productive cities,” said Centre for Cities chief executive Alexandra Jones. This, the report claims, can be achieved through increasing the density of businesses in city centres, expanding the pool of skilled workers and improving transport links within city regions.

 

“There is a case for improving transport between cities in the North,” it says. Centre for Cities has identified, for example, a need to improve line speeds on railway connecting Manchester and Leeds.

 

“But the allure of a ‘grand projet’ should not divert attention from the need to improve the places it is designed to link, particularly when it comes to transport within the city regions and skills across the North,” the report argues.

 

The report adds: “Both the Randstad and Rhine-Ruhr areas do not act as one labour market but as a number of them. This means that transport systems within city regions are more important for enabling businesses to access workers and workers to access jobs than transport links between cities.”

 

(Photo: Transport for Greater Manchester)